Rigor Mortis
by verysadtimes
Summary: The more they squabbled like little children, the less she was inclined to believe they were century-old vampires. In which Momo works as a coroner, discovers two not-so-dead men in the morgue and somehow ends up letting them stay at her apartment for the time being. [Modern/Vampire!AU; plat. BakuTodoMomo; rom. TodoMomo]
1. Mr Peppermint & Mr Pomeranian

**AN: I used too much garlic while cooking lunch and somehow spawned a Vampire AU in my mind.**

* * *

 **I. Mr. Peppermint & Mr. Pomeranian**

"Doc, there are another two bodies in the hallway." The young police officer announced, gesturing towards the door behind him. "Should I bring 'em in for you?"

Momo paused her movements to look up at him and offered a polite smile. "Ah, yes, that would be very kind of you."

"You got it, Doc." He waved and disappeared through the double door.

Momo went back to her previous task, skilfully folding away a patch of skin to observe the damaged tissue beneath it.

While reaching for a spatula, the sound of the door opening, accompanied by wheels screeching, filled the background.

The young police officer let out a sigh and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Patrol found 'em in the park. Unfortunately, none of them had any IDs on them, so they're both John Does for now. Let forensics know if you find anything, 'kay?" He even added a wink which was probably meant to be helpful.

Momo furrowed her brows and glanced at him. "Not to be rude, but I've been doing this job longer than you have. I think I know what I have to do." The words slipped from her tongue before she could stop herself, and she could only slap herself mentally.

So much for good first impressions.

"Ah, eh, sorry Doc, um, I mean, Dr. Yaoyorozu." The young man stiffened suddenly, growing a shade paler, but not pale enough to match the sheets covering the bodies surrounding them.

"It's alright. Don't you have some paperwork or something to do?" She waved him away with a blood-covered hand.

"Ah, yes, sorry." He scrambled away, the doors falling back into place with a silent click.

Once it was just her, she let out a long sigh.

When people asked her why she decided to become a coroner of all things, she always hesitated when answering. They already thought she was weird enough, so how was she supposed to explain that she did it because she liked the peace and quiet that came with being surrounded by nothing but dead bodies?

She pulled her gloves off and dried her sweaty hands, allowing herself a short break to massage her temples. A quick glance at the wall told her she'd probably be working overtime again, but that was okay.

It wasn't as if anybody was waiting for her at home.

In fact, if she was busy working, she wouldn't have to think about her disastrous lack of a social life.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she picked up her clipboard and began taking notes of her observations.

There wasn't anything abnormal about the stab wound besides the fact that it was surprisingly clean. Somebody with a steady hand, perhaps? She'd bring that thought up when Detective Tsukauchi came by to pick up her report.

Her eyes trailed towards the two newest additions to the morgue. The two unknown men.

She walked over and lifted the sheet covering the first one. It was a young man, maybe around her age, with spiky blonde hair and pale skin, dressed in worn casual clothes that were covered in dirt.

Momo lifted his hands, inspecting his arms and wrists. There were no signs of needle marks, but his knuckles were slightly bruised, suggesting he had been in a fist fight recently.

She turned to check the other John Doe but halted after lifting the sheet. That hair… could that really be natural? Split down the middle in a perfect line, one side snow white and the other a deep crimson. She ran her fingers across his scalp, looking for any traces of growing roots or any other indications that it was just a really good dye job, but finding none.

After brushing the man's bangs aside, she noticed that his eyebrows shared the same colour scheme.

Oh well, all sorts of things existed nowadays, so why not a completely natural split-dye? Moving on, she also inspected his hands and lower arms, coming to the same conclusion as the blonde.

No traces of injection marks, so she was tentatively excluding drug abuse until the blood test results came in, but the two of them had definitely been caught up in a physical encounter some time ago.

Both of them, however, were abnormally pale, even for dead bodies.

She lifted the blonde's eyelids, inspecting his pupils' reactions to her small light, denoting his eye colour as red on her chart.

The other man, in addition to his obscure hair, seemed to have heterochromia. One eye brown, the other turquoise, surrounded by what seemed to be a burn scar.

"What a shame," she muttered under her breath as she put aside the sheets covering them. "the two of you must've been popular with the ladies."

Talking to dead bodies was a bad habit of hers, but she made sure only to do so when she was sure she was alone.

"I wonder what happened to you two…" She mumbled as she unzipped the blonde's hoodie, reaching for a pair of scissors to remove the rest of his clothing. After cutting open his t-shirt, she furrowed her brows.

"Geez, where'd all these scars come from?" She traced a finger over a particularly nasty one that stretched across his abdomen. It had healed jaggedly, as if the skin had been ripped open to begin with, and then given poor medical attention.

The other scars weren't much better, so she assumed he had to be living under poor conditions until now. Glancing back at his hoodie, she couldn't help but wonder whether he perhaps shoplifted it.

She shook her head, that wasn't her job here, that was up to forensics to find out, if it was even necessary.

Once she removed the rest of his clothing and packaged it neatly for the evidence department, she took the shower head and began scrubbing away the dirt that had crusted over his cheeks and palms.

Cleaning the dead bodies was always the most tedious part of her job, but it was also oddly calming. Well, as long as it didn't involve scrubbing tons of blood away, that really did get annoying at some point.

There were no external wounds, so it probably wasn't homicide. It was also still September, so freezing to death also seemed unlikely.

Of course, drugs or other kinds of poison were still an option, but so was disease. It was just odd to have two bodies come in in such a similar state.

With a steady hand and her trusty scalpel, she created a Y-section across the man's chest. "Now… let's see what's inside you…"

"Oh dear, that doesn't look good." She muttered as she looked at the man's organs. "Multiple organ failure? This is something I'd expect from an old man, not somebody my age. Even if you smoked and drank every day, your lungs and liver should not look like this… Not to mention your spleen…"

Maybe it was some kind of rare sickness? Hereditary? One of those really rare cases? But what about the other one then?

As she began cutting through the other man's jumper, she glanced at his hair again. "I think I'll call you Mr. Peppermint. Yeah, Mr. Peppermint and…" She looked over her shoulder, her eyes catching the blonde's poufy, spiky hair. It looked like a…

"Mr. Peppermint and Mr. Pomeranian. Let's go with that." She decided before continuing to strip Mr. Peppermint down. Much like the blonde man, he also seemed to be covered in scars. "What were you two a part of, some kind of underground fight ring?"

Mr. Peppermint didn't answer, just lying there motionlessly.

"Oh, whatever. It's none of my business in the end."

She went through the process of washing him and cutting him open as well, only to find out that his organs looked as abysmally bad as Mr. Pomeranian's.

Was this some kind of new drug on the market? One that deteriorated the human body from the inside at astounding speed?

Scary.

Looking at the two of them side by side, she'd have to say that Mr. Peppermint's organs looked slightly worse than Mr. Pomeranian's.

Her spark of curiosity was lit, and she was almost tempted to storm into the forensics division and demand her blood results.

But no, she couldn't do that. She shook her head fervently. "That'd only end in disaster." She sighed, running her fingers through her ponytail.

Maybe… she should try being nicer to them?

Her lips pulled into a thin line at that thought. No, that was a bad idea. Being nice to other people never ended well, at least not for her.

It may have worked out for her in high school, but in retrospect, everyone only took advantage of her and whispered about brownie points behind her back.

It wasn't her fault her social skills only included etiquette rules of higher society and being able to put on a fake smile.

It wasn't her fault that…

She groaned in frustration. She should just stop thinking about it.

"Now, what do I do about you two?" She turned her attention back to Mr. Peppermint and Mr. Pomeranian.

"I'd love to find out more about you," she mumbled as she straightened out Mr. Peppermint's bangs, "but I still have to wait for Detective Tsukauchi before I can do anything else."

She looked around the morgue. "Maybe I should clean some of the equipment? But I already did that yesterday…"

The door opened with a soft creak, followed by Detective Tsukauchi sticking his head through the door. "Dr. Yaoyorozu? Are you done yet?"

"Detective, please come in. I just finished." She greeted him.

He stepped in, coming to her side. "Our two John Does from the park?"

"Yes, no external wounds, slight abrasions on their knuckles, signs of previous physical conflict. Probable COD: multiple organ failure." She counted off.

"Multiple organ failure? Both of them?" Tsukauchi raised a brow in surprise.

She nodded. "Have a look for yourself." She lifted the sheets off their bodies, giving him the side-by-side view.

"I'm no doctor, but that doesn't look good." Tsukauchi sighed. "It doesn't help that their DNA came back without results. One of the technicians managed to track down some distant relatives, but the difference is too great for it to be considered a lead."

"I see… what about their blood? Any weird substances? Medicine?"

"Nothing." He shrugged. "The iron content seemed higher than normal, but that's about it. No drugs, no alcohol, no nothing."

"Iron content? So, they took supplements?" Momo concluded. "That still doesn't explain this, though."

"No, it doesn't." Tsukauchi rubbed the back of his neck, then glanced at the clock. "Your shift ended two hours ago, and I know you love working, but why don't you call it a day? Send some samples of their organs to forensics tomorrow. Even if you gave it to them now, they still have their hands full with the Takahashi homicide case right now."

"Ah right, he's right over here." Momo led him to the third body. "No visible defensive wounds, clean stab wound, probably somebody with a steady hand. There was some kind of strange powder on his face, though. COD: sharp force trauma which led to him bleeding out."

"So, nothing unexpected."

"No." Momo confirmed. "Even though it's weird not to put up a fight when you get stabbed in the front. I already checked for visual impairments, but the man seems perfectly healthy."

"I see, I'll pass your report on to the others. Don't stay too long, Doc."

"Um, sure." She waved as he left the morgue with the handful of evidence bags.

Momo's hand tightened into a fist once he was gone. Being nice worked out for Tsukauchi, to the point that she was a bit envious. He was generally well-regarded by their co-workers, as well as highly respected. Everybody knew that a promotion was imminent.

He was what her high school self had aspired to become. What she ultimately failed to accomplish. A helpful, kind person who got along well with those around her but also got things done.

Instead, she fell into bitterness and cynicism, giving up. If she had persisted… If she had put on that smile one more time… Would she have also made it as far as him?

She let out a dry laugh. Probably not.

After covering Mr. Peppermint, Mr. Pomeranian and Takahashi and putting them into the cold chambers, she stretched her arms over her head, giving the morgue a one-over.

Everything was clean and tidy, just as she liked it.

She switched off the lights, the sound of her heels echoing in the empty hallway as she headed home for the day.

* * *

Maybe they were right when they said she was crazy.

Momo blinked once, twice, then slowly closed to door to the cold chamber. There was no way, right? It was impossible.

Definitely. It defied all logic.

She probably didn't sleep enough.

She took a deep breath, then opened the door again.

Mr. Peppermint was looking at his hand as he flexed it. Angling his head up, he looked past his toes at her. "Where am I? He asked her with a raspy, deep voice.

"… Musutafu morgue." She answered blankly.

"The morgue?" His voice peaked with surprise.

She frowned, pulling out the tray on which his body rested. He squinted when his eyes met the brightness of the overhead lights.

"Am I hallucinating?" She mumbled. "Did I overwork myself?"

Mr. Peppermint shielded his eyes, looking up at her. "How did I get here?"

"Shhh, shhh." She shushed him. "Dead people don't talk. This is all my imagination, so do me a favour and shut up."

"Oh." He responded, wrinkling his brows. "You think I'm dead." After that it looked like he was trying to sit up.

"Woah woah woah, don't move, are you stupid?" She forced him back down against the cold metal surface. "Do you want all your organs to spill out? I haven't closed up the Y-section yet!"

Realizing what she had done, she let go and slapped a hand against her forehead. "What am I doing?" She groaned. "Maybe I should take a few days off."

As she peeked at Mr. Peppermint through her fingers, she found him lifting the sheet covering him, looking at his abdomen and chest.

His heterochromatic eyes met hers. "What happened?"

"I performed an autopsy on you, Mr. Peppermint." She sighed. "I'm not done yet, so please don't move or talk. It's bad for my sanity."

"Mr. Peppermint? I do have a name, you know." He grumbled.

"Not according to our database. If you prefer, I can always call you Mr. John Doe." Momo went on as she washed her hands, dried them and pulled on a pair of gloves. "Just be glad you got to be 'Mr. Peppermint'. I named your buddy 'Mr. Pomeranian'."

He seemed to go quiet for a moment, brows knitted in thought. "You mean a blonde guy with spiky hair? He's here too?"

"Mhm." She answered, picking up her scalpel and folding the sheet covering Mr. Peppermint away, enough so that she could access his organs. "Okay… where do I start?"

"What are you doing?"

"Taking samples of your organs for forensics. You sure ask many questions for a hallucination."

"I'm not a hallucination." He responded urgently.

"That's what a hallucination would say." Momo shrugged. "Let's start with your liver."

She prepared to sink her scalpel into his innards, only to be stopped. Her eyes trailed past the blade of her scalpel, past her hand to the pale fingers gripping her wrist.

"Don't. I don't know what will happen if you do that." Mr. Peppermint spoke in a serious tone. "Now tell me, how did we get here?"

Momo's eyes were fixated in his hand around her wrist. "Uh, some patrol officers found you in the park and brought you in."

Hesitantly, she tried prying off his fingers from her hand, only to nearly have a heart attack when she realized that his hand was fully tangible, cold to the touch.

"This isn't possible…" She whispered in disbelief.

A distant sound tore her out of her thoughts. "Not now." She groaned, having recognized that sound as the outside door falling closed.

"Look, Mr. Peppermint, I have no idea what's going on, but If you move or talk while the detective is here I will not hesitate to stab this scalpel in places you really don't want me to. Just lie still and we can talk this out later." That said, she threw the sheet over him again, hastily opening the cold chamber next to his and pulling Takahashi out, just in time for Tsukauchi to open the door.

"Good morning, detective." She greeted him, a quivering smile on her face.

Immediately, he frowned. "Is something wrong, Dr. Yaoyorozu? Are you not feeling well?"

"Oh no, it's nothing. I think the exhaustion is just catching up to me." She played it off. "Maybe I should take a few days off."

"If anybody deserves it, it's surely you, Doc. You're one of the most diligent workers I know." Tsukauchi smiled at her kindly.

"Haha, what kind words you speak." She laughed awkwardly. "But that's not what you're here for. I'll send the organ samples to forensics in a moment."

"Oh, I was actually planning to bring them up for you. It's going to be a busy day for you again. Double homicide on the other side of town." Tsukauchi sighed. "And we still don't have any clues about Takahashi's murderer. The powder you found seemed to be some kind of pollen mixture, the team is narrowing the species down now to find out whether it has some kind of effect on the human body."

"I see." Momo nodded solemnly. "Then I'm afraid your trip down here was for nothing, detective."

"I can wait for you to take the samples." He offered.

"No, no, that won't be necessary. I wouldn't want to hold you up." She insisted. "I'm sure you have more important things to do."

"If you say so." Tsukauchi turned around and headed towards the door. In the corner of her eye, Momo say Mr. Peppermint's sheet moving.

 _What was he doing?!_

"Oh, Doc." The detective spun around one more time.

"Y-Yes?" Her voice may have been a few tones higher than usual. May have been.

"Just let me know if you need anything, okay?"

"Of course, I appreciate it. See you later." She rattled down, waving hastily as he finally left the morgue.

Once he was gone, she let her shoulders slump and sighed in relief. "That was close."

"My bad." Mr. Peppermint pushed the sheet aside. "I thought he was gone."

Momo glowered at him, then walked over to his side. "Give me your hand."

Frowning, Mr. Peppermint held up his hand for her.

"Do you feel this?" She pinched his fingertips.

He nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just making sure your basic motoric and sensory skills are alright. Curl your fingers."

He obeyed.

"Okay, this seems to be alright. Your blood circulation, however…" She trailed off, wondering how to tell the guy she had already halfway dissected that he had no blood flow.

"Ah, my blood doesn't really circulate anymore." Mr. Peppermint said as if it was the most normal thing ever.

"Eh, right."

"Oh, I didn't tell you yet. My name's Todoroki. I'm a vampire."

"… right. If you try lying to me, there's a patch of nerves in your armpit that can simulate labour pains."

"I'm not lying. How else do you explain this situation?" He seemed to be growing impatient.

Momo narrowed her eyes. "Very strong hallucinogens."

"Just stitch me back up. Bakugou, too, while you're at it." He sighed in defeat.

She shook her head. "I still have to take organ samples. And if you're a vampire, shouldn't you just be able to regenerate your organs?" She asked sceptically.

"I'm too old for that." He deadpanned.

"I don't want to hear that from someone who looks like he's in his late twenties. It makes me feel old. Besides, who's Bakugou?"

"The other guy. Y'know, the blonde. I'm surprised he hasn't woken up yet." Mr. Peppermint aka Todoroki explained.

"Oh right, him. He's right here." She went to the other side of his gurney and opened the cold chamber labelled 'John Doe #34'. She pulled the tray out, lifting the sheet to uncover the man's face.

Somehow, she wasn't surprised when she found a pair of fierce ruby eyes glaring at her. "Bakugou, I take it?" She greeted him lacklustre.

"Bitch, you have ten seconds to explain exactly what is going on here and why my stomach is fucking open." He seethed.

"I performed an autopsy on you. Am performing an autopsy on you." She answered. "Ask your friend here." She gestured towards Todoroki.

"He's not my friend." Todoroki was quick to respond.

"Your _acquaintance."_ She rolled her eyes.

"… the fuck?"

"Honestly, I don't care about you right now. I have a headache and a job to do. So please refrain from moving while I take samples of your organs, then I can stitch you back up." Momo rose her voice, holding up her scalpel.

"Right now, if either of you move, you might lose an organ or two."

Of course, it wasn't as if their organs would actually drop out so easily, and maybe it was a good thing she hadn't cut out their intestines or anything.

That is, if this was real. Her mind still hadn't quite decided on that yet.

Mr. Pomeranian glared at her with furious eyes but complied for the most part as she chipped off bits of organ tissue and placed them in petri dishes.

"See, you're still alive. Well, not really. Uh, you're still conscious." She mumbled as she threaded her needle. "This might hurt a bit. I've hardly worked with living patients before, so I don't really know what to say."

"Then don't fucking say anything." He growled out.

"Sorry, Mr. Pomeranian."

Silence fell over them.

"What did you just call me?"

Momo jabbed the needle through his skin with a bit more force than intended. "Has anybody ever told you that your hair looks like a Pomeranian?"

He winced at her action, still upholding his glare. "Are you fucking mental, woman?"

"I chose a profession that involves being surrounded by dead bodies all day long, and now I'm talking to two of them. I think the answer should be obvious." She sighed. "Now I understand why everyone thinks I'm crazy."

Bakugou winced once more as she tightened the last stitch.

"So, vampires, huh?" She put out there while picking up a clean scalpel to get Todoroki's organs. "Can you heal superfast and whatnot? Sunlight? Garlic? Do you drink blood?"

Todoroki flinched as the scalpel dug into his liver. "We do drink blood. Garlic's not an issue. Well, Bakugou's bad breath is."

"I heard that, fuckin' half-and-half!"

"Not so loud!" Momo chastised him. "If you get discovered I might get fired. I'm very happy with my job, thank you very much."

Todoroki ignored him and went on. "Limited sunlight is also okay. Both of us are a bit old for the healing fast schtick."

"I see." She grumbled, reaching for a clean needle and thread. "I'm assuming you don't want to stay here forever, do you?"

Todoroki glanced at her. "You're taking this a lot better than I expected you to."

"What am I supposed to do, scream hysterically? Run out of here in fear? If you wanted to attack me, you would have already. Besides, I'm the one holding a sharp object here." She reasoned while sealing up the Y-section.

"True." Todoroki winced slightly. "As for your question, I would have suggested we leave here as soon as possible."

"While that sounds logical, I have to point some things out." Momo groaned mentally. Was she really going to do this? Apparently.

"Number one, I can't let you out with just the stitches, if you want to walk around again your skin will actually need to heal to a point that the wound won't open again. Number two, I can't have two dead bodies suddenly disappearing on me, I'll definitely get fired and tried for that. Number three, how am I supposed to smuggle two people out of this building without anybody realizing it? Number four, all of your clothes and belongings are in the evidence vault."

Todoroki averted his gaze. "Your points are valid. Regarding the first one, we can speed up our recovery abilities by consuming fresh blood. As for the other three, I will need some time to think. Bakugou, try using your brain, too."

"Quit telling me what to do, bastard."

"I would, if you could think for yourself."

"What did you say?!"

Momo pinched the bridge of her nose. "Wait here a moment, I need to get some painkillers."

She exited the morgue, heading to the adjacent bathroom that pretty much only she used, with the exception of the coroner that came by when she was off duty.

She opened the mirror cupboard and fished out an aspirin, swallowing it with a handful of tab water.

There were two vampires throwing petty insults at each other in the morgue. Everything was fine, everything was okay.

But.

There were two vampires throwing petty insults at each other in the morgue.

Two vampires that she wanted to get rid off as soon as possible.

* * *

"… and that's what we're going to do. Any questions?"

"Woman, you can't seriousl-"

"ANY QUESTIONS?" Momo cut off Bakugou sharply. "None? Good."

"I wasn't expecting you to help us out like this." Todoroki remarked.

"Look," she leaned forward, "I want you two out of here just as much as you guys want to leave."

"I see, we're working towards a mutual goal."

"Take it as you will." She glanced at her watch. "There are another two bodies scheduled to come in now, so you two better be quiet while the officers are here. If I hear even a squeak out of you…" She narrowed her eyes. "Armpits."

Not even waiting for their responses, she pushed them back into their cold chambers and closed the doors.

* * *

 **AN: It's August, which means I have time, so I should be updating this again within the next two-three days, as well as updating my other stories in the course of the next week.**

 **I appreciate each and every review, so please leave one :)**

 **~Emi**


	2. Charity For The (Un)dead

**II. Charity For The (Un)Dead**

"Are you sure?" Tsukauchi grimaced, looking up from her report.

Momo nodded. "I've already made casts of all the wounds, and they all look eerily similar. There's a high probability they come from the same weapon."

"That's troubling, but I see what you mean." The detective ran a hand through his hair. "This means there might be a serial killer on the loose."

"I'll leave the final say to forensics, until then I'll look for other clues." Momo explained. "There wasn't any trace of the pollen mixture, but I might find something else."

"Ah, yes, please do." Tsukauchi smiled encouragingly. "I'll come by later again, Doc."

"See you then." She waved her free hand.

Once the sound of his footsteps disappeared, she exhaled deeply.

"He comes by a lot, doesn't he?" Todoroki remarked, pushing his sheet aside.

"Fuckin' bastard." Was all Bakugou contributed.

"Well, _some_ of us have jobs, and also _do_ these jobs, you know?" She grumbled in response, picking up a beaker and filling it with blood from the latest homicide victim.

"I've been thinking about your plan." Todoroki hummed. "There's one thing I don't think we covered yet, though."

"And that would be?"

"What are we going to do about clothes? You said our stuff is in the evidence vault, right?" He turned his head to look at her.

"There ain't no fucking way I'm going out there butt naked." Bakugou growled. "I have a reputation, you know."

"It's not a very good reputation, though." Todoroki shot back without hesitation.

"Shut the fuck up. Yours isn't any better."

"If the two of you would _listen_ ," Momo gritted out between her teeth, "then I'd tell you that I was planning to get you each a basic set of clothing from the department store. There, problem solved."

"Oh, is that so?" Todoroki mumbled. "Do you need our clothes sizes in that case?"

"I already have all your measurements." She sighed, waving a clipboard at him. "It's standard procedure. And I know more about men's clothes than you might think."

"Husband?" He concluded.

"Do I look like a married woman to you?" She deadpanned. "No, my father was pretty fashion-obsessed, so he made me go to the tailor with him when I was younger."

"Ah, okay."

Momo paused, wondering exactly what she was doing. She never talked about her parents, not to other people. Well, technically, they were dead, so did that still count? Or undead? What was the correct terminology in this case?

She shook those thoughts away and poured half of the contents of the first beaker into a second one before handing them to the two vampires.

"Here. The blood test came back clean, so there's nothing to worry about."

Todoroki looked at her, then at the beaker. "Can we sit up?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you, an old man?"

"Technically, I'm more than 400 years old."

"It was a rhetorical question. You can sit up, if you're careful. Worst case scenario I'll just stitch you up again." She sighed.

"Ah, thanks." Slowly, he pushed himself up, keeping his back rigidly straight for the most part. Bakugou cursed under his breath but did the same.

The blonde had the tendency to escalate in volume when he got upset, but it was possible to reason with him. To an extent. With a lot of threats. Somehow.

Everything was fine as long as he didn't cause a ruckus.

"So, how much will this amount of blood do for you?" She directed her question towards Todoroki, who seemed to be the more cooperative one out of the two.

Even if his answers couldn't get any vaguer.

"Quite a bit." He mumbled between sips.

"We'll need about three times this fucking amount to heal fully." Bakugou grumbled reluctantly, wiping his mouth as he held out the empty beaker to her.

Momo raised her brow. "So, about a litre?"

"If we were younger, it'd take less, but those days are over." Todoroki handed her back his beaker as well. "Thanks."

"What happened to that myth that vampires get stronger as they get older?" She asked as she began washing the two glass containers.

"Nothing but bullshit." Bakugou spat out. "A vampire's power peak comes shortly after they master all their basic abilities. Everything after is nothing but a power fantasy." His gaze drifted towards his clenched fist as bitterness filled his voice.

She raised a brow at him. He was awfully talkative all of a sudden.

"Don't think about it too much, this doesn't concern somebody like you." He added finally.

"As long as you two are here, it does concern me." She explained with conviction. "Now, let's see. You each need about another 600 or 700 ml of blood… I can give you each about the same amount right now from the second corpse. Basically, I'd need a third dead body."

She grimaced. "Considering that your organ results came back corresponding to an old man's organs, forensics has put your case aside for now in order to focus on the homicide cases. That means you'll be classified as an unsolved case and buried as 'John Doe's within the next few days."

"In other words, things are going as expected." Todoroki hummed.

Momo glanced at him over her shoulder. "The main question is whether a third body will be delivered before you two are shipped off to the cemetery."

"The human body has five fuckin' litres of blood." Bakugou pointed out. "Why do you have to wait?"

She turned off the tab, turned around and stemmed her hands on her hips. " _Because_ blood doesn't flow in dead people's bodies anymore, thus making it more difficult to get out large amounts. And I can't make it too obvious that I'm extracting blood if I don't want people asking questions." She shook her head.

"Look, if push comes to shove, I'll just give you some of my blood."

Todoroki put a finger to his chin. "It's been a long time since we've drunken blood from another living human."

"That's because you're too fucking lazy to move your ass!" Bakugou growled. "Have you seen what our organs look like because of that? Like fucking shrivelled grapes!"

"Watch the noise levels." Momo muttered tiredly. This was what it must feel like to be the mother of a noisy child.

Lowering his voice, reluctantly, Bakugou went on. "If you actually bothered to do anything, we probably wouldn't be here."

"Don't blame this on me." The other vampire replied dismissively. "It's not like I'm forcing you to stick around."

"What should I do, go solo? 'Cause that ended _soooo_ fucking well for what's-his-face. And if I have to choose between you and fucking Deku, I'll choose you."

"I'm sure that was supposed to be touching, but I don't feel touched at all." Todoroki said dryly.

"What are you, old men acting like little children? Is this vampire dementia?" Momo cut in before things got out of hand, massaging her temples. "The two of you are impossible."

"Well, when you've lived as long as we have, life gets boring easily. This serves as a daily stimulant." Peppermint hair explained methodically.

Momo felt her brow twitch. "Have you ever heard anything about hobbies? Jobs?"

"Those require registrations and IDs, two things we don't have. Additionally, we'd have to change locations every ten years or so because it'd start getting suspicious that we don't age."

Begrudgingly, she had to admit that those were valid reasons. It's been some time since anybody had to correct her on something. Nonetheless…

"Don't you know anybody who can fake you some credentials?" She inquired. "I mean, even I know someone, and I work for law enforcement."

"We do know somebody… but…" Todoroki hesitated.

"She's batshit crazy, so we don't go to her anymore." Bakugou answered in his stead.

"Is that so?" She mumbled. "I guess that doesn't matter right now."

She turned her attention back to the newest murder victims. "If you two insist on squabbling, please keep your voices down. I have work to do, and if you get on my nerves any further I'm putting you two back into the cold chambers and locking the doors."

* * *

"… that doesn't look right." Momo pondered under her breath as she shone the light over the victim's neck. Despite having cleaned the corpse with water already, there was still some kind of reflective substance on the skin.

She ran a finger over it and examined her glove. It transferred, reflecting the overhead lights. "Oil?"

Maybe. She took a sample of it and put it in a bag for forensics.

"Do you always talk to yourself?" Bakugou asked her. "It's creepy."

"Says the vampire." She replied. "Besides, this is basically my zone, I make the rules here. So if I'm going to talk to myself, don't let yourself be bothered by it."

"How can I not be fucking bothered by it when it's happening right in front of me."

She inhaled sharply and turned around to face him. "If you continue giving me this attitude, I'm throwing you out, regardless of the consequences."

Bakugou merely narrowed his eyes. "Bring it on, bitch. That's a poor bluff and we both know it."

Momo smiled tiredly and went back to work. She couldn't even muster up the energy to refute his statement.

Ah, she wanted to go on vacation. Right after these two knuckleheads were gone, she'd take a few weeks off.

Where to? Somewhere quiet, isolated, maybe a beach with no other living being in sight? No undead beings either, that would be very nice as well.

She could relax in the shade of a tree, watching the setting sun dye the horizon in shades of purples and reds as the sunlight refracted in the atmosphere, the beautiful sight reflected in the clear, blue water…

And there would be absolute silence, only the rustle of leaves and the swishing of water filling the background.

"-an."

No, now there was a disturbance, breaking the peaceful environment.

"Oi, woman!"

"I have a name, you know." All blissful illusions of silence and peace disappeared with Bakugou's imploring voice. "Please call me Dr. Yaoyorozu, or Doc, as everyone else does."

"Yaoyorozu… Yaoyorozu…" Todoroki put a hand to his chin. "Where have I heard that name before?"

"Isn't that the name of that one huge-ass company? You related or somethin'?" Bakugou grumbled.

Momo stiffened. "That's none of your business."

"We didn't mean to pry." Todoroki apologized, seemingly picking up on her discomfort. "Bakugou, watch your mouth."

"Oi, you're not that innocent here either."

"Let's just drop the topic altogether." Momo intervened, once again.

* * *

"It seems like our two John Does will be sent to the funeral home the day after tomorrow." Tsukauchi rifled through a stack of papers and handed her a few forms. "Forensics took another look at everything, but they couldn't find the cause of the organ failure, so the higher-ups decided to file it away. I guess it'll just be another unsolved case." He sighed regretfully. "God knows we have too many of those."

"Nobody reported them as missing?" Momo inquired as per protocol. She knew that nobody was going to come for them, but Tsukauchi didn't.

"Nothing so far. I would have thought they were university students, but it actually troubles me that there's nothing hinting towards their identities, it's as if they don't exist." The detective turned his head to the side and yawned.

"Another long day in the office, huh?"

Tsukauchi nodded. "Yeah, we got a breakthrough in the homicide case, so everyone is working their hardest."

Momo nodded. "I see, that's good to hear."

He chuckled. "I don't know how far we'll get, though. I feel like we're going to run straight into another dead-end."

"Then I wish you the best of luck. I'll have these forms ready for their pick-up." She gestured the papers.

"Thanks again." Tsukauchi waved with his free hand as he left.

"He comes by way too often. Don't you have phones or something like that?" Todoroki remarked immediately, his eyes trained on the double door.

"He insists I'm too isolated down here. I already had that this discussion with him." Momo explained reluctantly.

The vampire tilted his head to the side. "He has a point, though. He's the only other person who's come by during the entire day."

"Yeah, probably because I scared off the newbie yesterday." She joked. "All the others, too."

Bakugou remained silent, but she could feel his calculating gaze on her as she moved across the room.

"You're not exactly what I'd call scary." Todoroki stated, unaware of his surroundings. "Maybe… anti-social? A bit like us, really."

"…It was a joke." You knew your jokes were bad if you had to point out it was a joke. At least she was trying, at least she was trying.

"Oh?"

Oh? That's all he had to say?

"You don't get to call others anti-social when your own social skills are underneath the barrel." Bakugou spoke up, eerily calm. "Ponytail, that guy said the higher-ups just filed away our case, right?"

"Ponytail, seriously?" She sighed in exasperation. "Yeah, he did. They do that when cases don't go anywhere anymore, which they've decided to be the case with you two."

"We've only been here a day, though. Isn't that a bit rash?"

"As much as I appreciate your ability to communicate in a civilised manner," Momo drawled, "I don't really think you should be complaining. This just means you'll get out of here sooner."

"Don't you think it's a bit suspicious?" His red eyes locked with hers.

"Of course it's suspicious." Momo wanted to laugh. "But it comes down to the fact that the serial murder case is just more important than two identity-less homeless guys who are taking up space in the morgue."

There was another possibility, of course, but Momo would rather ignore the option of her superiors being involved with the undead and pulling a few strings here and there. She already had a big enough headache.

Bakugou didn't seem appeased by her answer, but Todoroki merely folded his arms behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. "What's underneath the barrel?"

* * *

By the time her shift was over, she had already taken more painkillers than the packaging advised her to.

"Please behave while I'm not here." She stood in front of the two vampires, hands stemmed on her hips like a mother reprimanding her children. "No weird noises, no funny ideas and no scaring the cleaning staff. Also, if another doctor comes by, act like dead bodies, okay?"

"I'm almost surprised you don't sleep in the morgue, since you seem to love your fucking job so much." Bakugou glared at her. "And we're not stupid, so don't tell us what to do."

"You might actually be able to make some friends if you stopped acting like such a tsundere."

"Shut up, half-n'-half bastard!"

"Good night, see you tomorrow." Momo bid them goodbye, closing the doors to their cold chambers.

She rubbed her temples as their muffled bickering died down, picking up the forms she still had to drop by Tsukauchi's office and leaving the morgue.

It felt a bit weird, finishing her day on time, but she wasn't sure if she could stand another minute with those two. The elevator dinged, signalling her arrival on the second floor.

As she walked down the hallway, a few people turned their heads towards her, raising their brows and giving her confused glances.

She could understand, she only came up here rarely, after all. There were even some faces she didn't recognize.

With a deep breath, she straightened her posture and did her best to come across as unaffected. If it looked like she didn't care, they might just forget about her. Detective Tsukauchi's glass office door entered her field of vision. She knocked and entered when his muffled voice responded.

"Dr. Yaoyorozu, what a rare sight." He greeted her, surprise evident on his face. "You're actually leaving on time?"

"Ehm, yes." She smiled politely. "I came to hand over the forms regarding the two John Does. Also, I'm afraid I couldn't find anything else on the homicide victims, sorry."

"Don't apologize, you've done more than enough." He took the papers and glanced at them quickly. "Have a safe trip home, Doc."

"Yeah, thanks. See you tomorrow." She bid him good-bye and left the office again, closing the door behind her with a soft click.

The path to the elevator seemed longer than before, but she braved through the continues stares. Once the cold, silver doors closed in front of her, she let out a long breath. She remembered why she didn't like coming here.

* * *

The sun peaking over the horizon seemingly mocked her as she stood at her kitchen counter, downing a glass of orange juice. She didn't even bother using the dining table at this point, not anymore.

What would happen if she called in sick? Then she wouldn't have to deal with those two headaches, that was for sure. But somebody else might discover them… Could she really afford that?

Just thinking about them put her in a foul mood.

She followed up on the orange juice with a cup of black coffee, the bitter taste washing down her throat. It was unpleasant, but she knew she was going to need it if she wanted to get through this day.

After grabbing her lab coat, bag and car keys, she left the apartment and started another day of work.

* * *

"…Good morning. Did you behave yourselves?"

Bakugou merely shot her a poisonous look, Todoroki nodding as impassively as ever.

"Did anything happen while I was away?" She sighed, taking a seat at her overflowing desk.

"No." came Todoroki's one-word-answer.

"Good." She replied equally curt. Ignoring the two, she went back to sorting out some paperwork. Her desk really was a mess of papers and files, and yet she knew exactly what was where. Her memory had to be good for something, after all.

The silence reigned on for an hour, maybe two, only short, low whispers passing between the two vampires behind her.

At some point, one of them began tapping against the metal slab he was lying on in a rhythmic pattern. Over time, the pace picked up, the tempo increasing until Momo aggressively slammed her pen onto the table and whipped around. "Will you _quit_ doing that?!"

Bakugou was eyeing her, his body supported on his free hand leisurely. His overall air of boredom and laziness was ticking her off.

Todoroki, on the other hand, was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, as if he were meditating. With the white sheet slung across himself like that, he looked like he was about to deliver some kind of divine message.

With a frustrated groan, she turned back to her desk. Tomorrow. She only had to hold out until tomorrow.

"I've been thinking. Isn't your profession really boring?" Mr. Peppermint chose to speak up.

"Aren't most professions?" She responded half-heartedly. "The moment you start doing something for money and not out of passion, it becomes a chore and thus, boring."

"Hmmm, I see." A pause. "Then, what kinds of things do you enjoy doing?"

Bakugou scoffed. "As if she's got any hobbies. Just look at how much fucking time she spends here."

She really wanted to refute that statement, she really did, but she couldn't. Instead, she looked over her shoulder. "Why would my personal life be of any interest to you? After tomorrow, I don't plan on seeing either of you again."

"Even so, I can't seem to figure you out." Todoroki went on, ignoring Bakugou.

Momo furrowed her brows. "You don't seem like the type that's good at reading people, nor the atmosphere. And that's coming from _me_."

"He's not." Bakugou quipped in.

"Maybe, but it's never too late to start, right?"

Momo shook her head. "You can try all you want, but there really isn't more to me than you've already seen. You're just wasting your time."

"I don't believe that. Besides, time is something I have an overabundance of." He pointed out.

But there really wasn't anything more to her. She was just a secluded, workaholic coroner who talked to dead bodies. He'd forget about her soon enough anyway.

* * *

"Do you just… sit around like a bloody moron all day long?" Bakugou scrunched his face up in distaste.

"Yes. If no dead bodies come in, it's a good sign, isn't it?" Momo scratched the back of her head as she tried to decipher some old notes she took.

"Speaking of dead bodies…" Todoroki trailed off.

Momo caught on immediately, pushing away her old notes. "How fresh did you say the blood had to be?"

"The fresher the better."

She sighed and glanced at the occupied cold chambers. Most of them were probably too old already, that and she didn't know how well extracting blood would go with some of them.

With a grimace, she looked at the clock. "The detective should be on his lunch break now, so…"

She halted before finishing the sentence, shaking her head mentally. No, she shouldn't do something so desperate.

"…I'll bring you something tomorrow morning. They can't lug away corpses without my signature." She finally said.

* * *

The woman at the department store eyed her weirdly as she purchased two full sets of men's clothing.

Not her proudest moment.

* * *

Momo slumped into her couch, probably for the first time in weeks. It was dusty. She should clean this place more often.

Rubbing her temples one last time she reached for the disinfectant and the needle. When she had said she'd give them her blood, it was half-jokingly. She didn't actually expect to end up giving them her blood.

"… 600ml…" She mumbled to herself, preparing everything.

* * *

After breakfast, she took a few iron supplements as well. There was still a slight wooziness in her mind, but it wasn't anything she couldn't overcome.

Tiredly, she pushed the door to the morgue open, only to be met by an unexpected sight. "…Detective Tsukauchi?"

The detective turned to her as the funeral home people greeted her with a nod, wheeling two body bags past her.

"Oh, Dr. Yaoyorozu, they came a bit earlier, so I thought I'd take care of things here. You don't have to worry about anything."

"… thanks." She forced a smile onto her face, desperately trying to keep her calm exterior while screaming on the inside.

Her eyes involuntarily shot to the body bags, half expecting them to jump up and give everybody a panic attack. Especially Bakugou, Bakugou would totally do that.

"Is something wrong? You look a bit pale…"

"N-No, nothing, nothing at all. It's just a bit... unexpected."

"Ah, sorry about that." The detective smiled apologetically before turning back to the funeral home men. "You have everything, right?"

One of the men nodded. "Yep, poor bastards will get buried around noon. It's a shame nobody'll come to see them off."

They left the room, followed by Detective Tsukauchi. Once they were gone, Momo let out an awkward laugh.

Oh god.

They were going to rise from the grave and haunt her for the rest of her life, right? Should she pack her bags and skip town? Her parents would find out eventually, but she couldn't bring herself to care about them right now.

Instead of relief, only worry and panic flooded her as she began picturing Bakugou knocking at her window in the middle of night, feral red eyes glowing in the moonlight.

No, surely that wouldn't happen… right?

It was only seven in the morning and she already felt like throwing herself into bed and screaming into a pillow for five straight minutes.

Why did this happen to her? They had a plan, what happened to their plan? Sure, their plan was a bit over-the -top and movie-worthy, but it should've worked…

She buried her face in her hands.

Deep breaths, deep, calming breaths.

Think. Think. Think.

* * *

The hours trailed by slower than a snail, but once her shift was finally over she rushed home, leaned over the kitchen sink and splashed her face with water.

Do it, or not? Yes or no?

Her hands shook with uncertainty, a wave of guilt washing over her. Wouldn't it be really heartless to just leave them there? She shook her head fervently. No! They did nothing but bother her, so why should she help them? For all she cared, they may as well rot away six feet under.

She turned the tab to cold and splashed some more water on her face, the droplets running down her arm, finally dripping off her skin onto the ground.

That's right, she could be heartless. She could say no. Steeling herself, she took determined steps towards her bedroom.

She stopped being the nice, helpful girl a long time ago.

" _Maybe, but it's never too late to start, right?"_

Just as she took a step past the door frame, she cursed under her breath.

One more time.

One last time.

She'd do the right thing, the kind thing, she'd do it one last time.

She spun around on her heel and grabbed her car keys, as well as her bag which still held the container of blood and the clothes she had bought.

* * *

Procuring a shovel in the middle of the night had raised a few eyebrows, but after explaining that she worked late the store clerk seemed a bit appeased.

And now… now she was standing in the middle of the graveyard in the middle of the night. Luckily, she knew in which section the unknown bodies were buried, so she headed over there.

Climbing over the tall gate had been harder than she anticipated, but her more athletic days were also in the past already.

Ah, she felt old.

Digging out a flashlight, she inspected the soil surrounding the graves closest to the edge, determining which two were the freshest. Luckily, there were no other John Does that came in recently, so she could guess which ones they were quite easily.

Readying her shovel, she thought this over one more time. Just as she began to feel hesitant, she slapped herself across the face, the sting burning on her skin, only added to by the cool autumn air.

Her back was going to kill her after this.

* * *

Flashlight clammed between her teeth, Momo lifted another shovel of dirt aside. How long had it been? How long had she been digging already?

She wasn't sure, but her arms were aching and back was screaming and her cheek muscles felt numb.

There had been so many times she wanted to give up, but then she stopped herself, because this time she wasn't going to give up. She would do this.

The shovel finally hit something other than soil, eliciting a relieved sigh from her. She knelt down and knocked against the bit of wood.

"Bakugou? Todoroki?" She asked tentatively. After the few first seconds of silence, she began to fear that she may have dug up the wrong grave.

"It's about fucking time, woman." Momo had never been more relived to hear Bakugou's upset voice.

"Just give me a few minutes, I'll get you out of there."

Her motivation renewed, she ignored her strained muscles and continued digging, until she could lift the wooden cover of the coffin.

It was a good thing the soil in their area was so loose.

"Push it open from the inside." She told him.

A few seconds later, Bakugou emerged from the coffin, just like a vampire right out of a movie. Except that he was still naked, with nothing but a sheet.

"…You need a hand?"

He stared at her for a few seconds before accepting it, albeit reluctantly. Putting her all into it, she pulled him out of the hole.

"… you better have fucking clothes for me."

"Here." She held out the bag. "I even have blood for you two."

Bakugou rummaged through the bag and began pulling on clothes. "We can leave half-n-half here. Nobody'll miss him. Well, maybe stupid Deku, but he doesn't matter."

"Yeah, no." Momo stretched her arms over her head. "I'm digging him up as well." She picked the shovel up again and stemmed it into the ground.

"The least you can do is close up your hole again." She told him before digging up the first shovelful of dirt.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

Bakugou clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Why are you doing this?"

She continued shovelling. "My reasons are pretty stupid and selfish. Don't think too much of them."

He went silent, so she bit on her bottom lip and pushed herself further.

"I can't watch this anymore." Bakugou huffed. "Where the fuck is the blood?"

She paused to look at him. "My bag."

He was fully dressed already, digging through her purse and pulling out the glass container. Finishing it one gulp, he wiped his mouth and took the shovel from her, rather forcefully.

"Step aside."

She frowned. "Weren't you going to leave him here?"

He grumbled something incoherent, digging the soil up at an astounding speed.

She watched him and pulled her lips into a thin line. "I thought you don't get stronger?"

"Weren't you paying attention?! Of course we're stronger than the average fucking human, use your goddamn brain!" He replied, even if it seemed a bit random and out of context.

It only took ten minutes for the anger-fuelled vampire to reach the wooden coffin and start knocking on it incessantly. "Oi, bastard, I know you can hear me! Move your ass!"

The cover lifted, Todoroki peering past it up at Bakugou. "You're so noisy."

"Don't give me that attitude and get the fuck up here right now!"

* * *

When all was said and done, Todoroki adjusting the T-shirt he had just pulled over his head, and Bakugou filling the holes back up, the peppermint-haired vampire turned to her.

"Thanks."

Momo stared into the air, wondering exactly what she had accomplished. She felt so heroic not too long ago, and now… she just felt empty.

"Sorry." She mumbled. "I didn't expect the detective to sign the forms in my stead. Because of my miscalculation you ended up here."

"But you came back for us."

"And if I hadn't? I only came back because I felt guilty." She confessed with a sigh.

Todoroki regarded her for a few seconds, sipping on blood in-between. "If you still feel guilty, there's one favour I'd like to ask of you."

She raised a brow. "And that would be?"

Bakugou joined them in that moment, the shovel tucked under his arm.

"Do you know a place we can crash at? We're kinda homeless."

Momo facepalmed. She might as well go all the way, right? One act of charity, reel in the good karma.

"… you can spend the night at my place, but you better start looking for another place tomorrow."

* * *

 **AN: Okay, so I lied. It was two weeks and not two days. But the next chapter is here now!**

 **As always, reviews are appreciated!**

 **~Emi**


	3. Midnight Fieldtrips

**III. Midnight Fieldtrips**

Bakugou looked around her living room with narrowed eyes. "When was the last time you cleaned this place?"

"Some time ago." She confessed, gently removing the sofa cover.

Todoroki ran a finger over a nearby cabinet. "Yeah, we can tell."

"If it's not up to your standards, you can feel free to sleep on the streets." She mumbled between a yawn, pulling off the plastic sheet that covered the other sofa. "Wait here, I'll get you some pillows and blankets."

Rubbing some sleepiness out of her eyes with one hand, the other rummaging through the untouched compartments of a nearby shelf, she felt herself questioning this entire situation once more.

This was stupid, wasn't it? Letting two strangers crash at her place? She wasn't some samaritan, she was just feeling guilty.

With a shake of her head she returned to her two guests, pillows and blankets in hand.

"Here. If you're hungry or thirsty, the kitchen is right over here…" She paused mid-gesture, furrowing her brows. "Do you even eat normal food?"

"Occasionally." Todoroki replied, unfolding the duvet she handed him and laying it out neatly. "Depends on how much blood we drink, really."

Momo scratched her head in confusion. "Whatever you say, if you need something, the kitchen is here."

A silence settled over them, the rustling of Bakugou's blanket filling the room.

"If you don't have any more questions, I'm going to sleep now. Good night." She announced, spinning on her heel and preparing to leave the living room.

"Thanks."

It was just one word, said with no real emotion, probably just a formality. But Momo still found herself glancing over her shoulder, meeting Todoroki's gaze briefly.

She simply nodded, not sure what to say for the first time in a while.

* * *

When her alarm clock rang out just a few hours later, she pushed herself out of bed with a lot of reluctance.

Her back and arms were aching, her eyelids kept fluttering, begging for sleep and she already knew she would have to drink at least three coffees to reach a functioning level.

After getting ready, she walked through the living room, ignoring the two sleeping forms on her sofas, into the kitchen and switched on the coffee machine.

This was going to be one hell of a day.

* * *

"Sure." She mumbled tiredly.

Detective Tsukauchi raised a brow in surprise. "Oh, uh, really? That's great! I wasn't sure you'd agree, but I'm quite relieved you did, to be honest." He broke into a smile and picked up the documents he had come by to get.

It took Momo ten minutes to realize that she had no idea what she had just agreed to.

She was in the middle of wiping down a slab when it hit her, the detective's worried face, hesitantly asking her something, but her bleary mind couldn't piece together his words anymore.

What was it?

Would it be rude to ask him about it? She stared at the slab for a good minute. Surely it wasn't anything too bad, right? It had something to do with an investigation, right?

Slowly, she continued cleaning again, moving her hand in circular motions. It would work out, definitely. Yeah.

Her lips pulled into a worried line against her will.

With a groan, she left the slab and marched towards the vending machine in the hallway, throwing in the small change methodically, impatiently tapping her foot while waiting for her coffee.

These last few days had derailed her normal routine worse than any train wreck that made it onto the news in recent years.

She didn't even like coffee all that much, yet she felt like she was about develop an addiction to it.

Ah, great, addicted to coffee and painkillers. Yes, this was _exactly_ what life was about.

"Uh, excuse me?"

Momo blinked, turning to the source of the voice. Weird, she hadn't heard anybody approaching her.

"I'm looking for a Dr. Yaoyorozu, is he here?" The young woman asked flatly, fanning herself with some papers.

"That's me." Momo replied, popping open her coffee and taking a sip. "How can I help you?"

"Oh, sorry." The other woman apologized. "I was supposed to bring a corpse down here? Actually, one of my co-workers was supposed to come with me, but he suddenly disappeared. I'm pretty sure he's flirting with the receptionist, but hey." She shrugged non-chalantly.

"Oh, you're new?" Momo concluded. Corpse drop-offs were usually just a hassle of paperwork, so whenever somebody actually approached her about anything more than her signature, she figured they had no idea what they were supposed to do.

"Yeah, first day on the job." The purple-haired woman smiled sympathetically. "But back to the corpse, what do I do with it?"

Momo glanced towards the hallway. "Where is it now?"

"In front of the elevator. I left it there because I wasn't sure where to go." The woman shrugged.

Momo suppressed a sigh. _Be nice_. "Well, try not to do that in the future. If something happens to it while you aren't looking, you'll have to take responsibility for whatever happens. Bring it here and I'll sign all the papers for you."

The woman frowned. "It's just a corpse, though. I doubt anything would happen to it. Besides, there's nobody here."

"It's thought processes like that that lead to unwanted incidents. Pay more attention," Momo glanced at the woman's name tag, "Miss Jirou."

Miss Jirou raised a brow. "Uptight, much? Whatever, I'll get the corpse."

The woman went back down the hallway, Momo watching her as she took a large gulp of coffee. So what if she was uptight? So what if she was paranoid about things happening to corpses?

Did Miss Jirou have experience with corpses suddenly coming to life, claiming to be homeless vampires and crashing at her place?

Did she? Momo huffed mentally. Until she did, that woman had nothing to say.

She emptied the contents of her canned coffee, crumpled it up and dropped it into a nearby trash can.

* * *

Three days. It had already been three days.

Momo stared at the plates spread out in front of her, the neat arrangement of dishes staring right back at her.

"I know I should have asked this quite a while earlier, but why are you still here?" She looked up, meeting Bakugou's grumpy expression.

The blonde crossed his arms and gave her a serious look. "If you weren't such a workaholic, we could have had this discussion earlier. But to put things short, we may not be nice, but we're not ungrateful bastards. At least I'm not."

"I heard that!" Came Todoroki's voice from the living room.

"Just fucking eat already, Ponytail. It's not poisoned or anything." Bakugou went on, ignoring the other vampire.

Momo picked up her chopsticks and glanced back at him. "I didn't know you could cook."

He scoffed. "Coming from you, I'm not surprised. Do you seriously live off ready-made meals?"

"I don't have the time to cook, but I do know how to." She replied under her breath. "And it's convenient."

"It may be convenient, but it's not healthy. Fuck convenience." He pulled out a chair and sat down across from her. "And this place is full of dust, from my guess the only rooms you bother cleaning are the kitchen, your room and the bathroom. How do you live like this?"

"I've managed. A cleaning lady comes once a month." Momo reached for some chicken. It tasted… really good, actually.

"One hell of a job she does." He muttered, sarcasm not lost on her. "I could do a better fucking job."

Momo chewed on the vegetable dish a bit longer, savouring the flavour. How did he cook something like this from the things she had in her kitchen?

It was really, really good.

What if…? Maybe…?

She put her chopsticks down and looked at him. "Really?"

"Huh, what?"

"Do you really think you could do a better job?"

"Of fucking course."

"In that case, I have a proposal." She interlaced her fingers and rested her chin on them. "If you two take care of the household, I'll let you stay here longer."

He stared at her in disbelief. "Are you fucking mental? What kind of sane person makes an offer like that? Aren't you worried we'd take advantage of the situation?"

"But you won't." She explained calmly. "If you wanted to rob or kill me, you would have already done so. You're a very straightforward person, Bakugou."

He narrowed his eyes. "You're fucking crazy."

She laughed, just a bit. "You're not wrong. But…"

She looked at the food on the table and thought about the unfolded blankets in the living room. The rumpled carpets, the ever-open balcony door. For the first time since moving in, it felt like somebody actually lived here.

"… your company isn't that bad." She finally admitted. Once she got used to it and stopped over-thinking things, it was… a pleasant change. While annoying at first, both of the vampires… were quite a bit like herself, to be honest.

She bit her bottom lip. "Besides… this place is too big for one person."

Bakugou's red eyes fell to the table surface, silence reigning over them for a few seconds.

"I wouldn't mind." Another voice joined the conversation, belonging to Todoroki who was leaning against the doorframe.

Bakugou broke out in a grin. "On one condition."

"And that would be?"

"Get your life under fucking control!" He stood up abruptly, a firm palm planted on the table. "Especially your eating habits! No more ready-made food, got it?!"

Momo laughed at that, unable to keep it under control. Her stomach hurt, but she just couldn't stop. How long had it been…?

How long had it been since somebody actually showed concern for her?

She wiped the tears from the corner of her eye, offering a smile of her own. "Deal."

* * *

Two weeks. It had been two weeks already.

She stretched her arms after getting out of bed, walking into the hallway past the two guestrooms that were now inhabited by Todoroki and Bakugou.

After a quick pit stop in the bathroom, she entered the kitchen, one hand brushing her teeth, the other switching on the coffee machine and pulling out a plate and some things out of the fridge.

Closing the fridge door with her shoulder, she threw on the stove. While waiting for it to heat up, she finished brushing her teeth.

She was in a good mood today. Humming a short melody she had heard somewhere, she began making pancake batter, adding a spoonful of it into the greased pan.

Once she was done, she put the leftover batter back into the fridge in case any of the other two wanted some.

She scribbled a quick note that they were running low on groceries, which she placed on the counter along with a handful of bills. Hopefully either Bakugou or Todoroki could stop by the store since it was a cloudy day.

With a hop in her step she left the apartment once she was done, even ignoring the balcony door that was still ajar.

* * *

Her good mood started dwindling when she was greeted by Tsukauchi at the front door of the police department.

"Good morning, Doc. I know it's a bit sudden, but remember that meeting I told you about? They rescheduled it to today."

Meeting? What meeting? Did she agree to someth- Oh. _That_.

She plastered a smile on her face. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. I already checked your schedule, you're free, and your input would be highly appreciated." He practically pleaded with her.

Her good mood ultimately came crashing down when she found herself in a conference room full of people whose names she didn't know.

Tsukauchi cleared his throat. "Before we start this meeting I'd like to introduce a special guest. This is Lt. Yagi, a retired officer." He gestured towards a sickly-looking man to his left. "His experience will hopefully help us with this case."

"Thank you for having me." The man smiled faintly.

"Now, back to the case. We've had five victims so far, all of them bearing wounds from what forensics has confirmed to be the same weapon. All of them were murdered in their own homes, with virtually no trace of a trespasser. All murders occurred at night. Each victim had some kind of strange substance on them, but the substance was different from person to person. We did find a blonde hair on one of the victim's clothes, but it was only a broken end, so we couldn't run it through the database." The detective summarised.

"There was also nothing linking the victims together." Another woman in the room added. "Their ages, genders and workplaces differ vastly from case to case."

"We checked hobbies and other activities, but none intersect." A man shook his head.

Momo sighed internally. She knew it was her turn now. "None of the victims showed signs of putting up a struggle or defending themselves, suggesting they were either caught off-guard or trusted the perpetrator. Since three out five were stabbed from the front, I believe the latter option is more probable. Another possibility is that they were incapacitated somehow, which might explain the strange substances. I found all of the substances somewhere above the neck, meaning they might have influenced the victims' perceptions."

Tsukauchi flipped through some papers. "The first victim had a pollen mixture on his face. We checked for possible effects this mixture could induce, but it should theoretically be harmless. After checking whether the victim had any allergies, of which he had none, we came back to square one. The second and third victim, a married couple, both had rasp oil on their necks. The fourth one had a smudge of paint on her cheek despite not having painted anything and the most recent one was found with honey under his nose."

He looked back into the room. "It seems random at best."

"Maybe it's some kind of symbolism?" Lt. Yagi suggested. "Serial killers often like to mark their works somehow."

The two people next to Momo began to murmur something. She still believed that they served some other purpose than aesthetics.

"Before we start worrying about that, how do we explain how the perpetrator entered the victims' homes to begin with?" Somebody cut in.

Momo pinched the bridge of her nose. This was going to be a long day. Again.

* * *

"Excuse me, Dr. Yaoyorozu?"

Momo turned her head to meet the owner of the voice. The meeting was finally over, and she couldn't wait to disappear back into the morgue.

"Lt. Yagi, how can I help you?"

The frail man smiled sympathetically. "I wanted to ask you something, if that's okay."

She furrowed her brows. "Uh, sure."

"A few weeks ago, you dealt with a pair of John Does with peculiar circumstances, right? I haven't heard about a case like that before, and it sparks my interest."

Momo smiled uncomfortably. "If you're interested in it, you can read the files. I'm sure a highly-regarded officer such as yourself has access to the evidence vault."

He laughed. "I would, but as it turns out the blackout a few days ago really screwed us over. Although most of the data was secured, the pipe that broke in the evidence vault left some case files unusable."

Yes, how unfortunate. What a coincidence. Momo feared that this kind of a confrontation would happen.

Her smile tightened. "How… peculiar. Unfortunately, I don't remember much about the case."

The man's shoulders tensed minimally. "Is that so? I was informed that you have an immaculate memory, Doctor."

"It has been a bit stressful lately, with the serial killer and all." She shrugged. "There wasn't much that stood out about their case, I guess."

Lt. Yagi's eerily blue eyes observed her for a while. "I… see. If you do remember something, do let me know. Here's my card."

She took the card, her strained smile still plastered on. "Of course. It was a pleasure meeting you, lieutenant."

* * *

Once she was in the elevator, she let out a long breath, glancing at the card.

 _Lt. Toshinori Yagi_

 _XXXX-XXXX-XXXX_

She stuffed it into her pocket and grimaced. So there _were_ certain higher ups monitoring the undead. This was one of the cases where she wasn't happy to have her suspicions confirmed, but from what she could tell they wouldn't make a move unless she opened her mouth.

Not that she was planning to.

She scratched her head. The blackout a few days ago was pretty suspicious to begin with, and once it became known that a system error occurred deleting a handful of John Doe files, she knew something else was going on.

Lt. Toshinori Yagi. She'd have to watch out for him.

* * *

"I'm home." She announced, closing the door behind her. She was greeted by the smell of chicken broth and soy sauce, as well as a muffled "Welcome back." from Todoroki.

When she entered the living room, she found him out on the balcony, looking over the city as it began to light up more with the setting sun.

Bakugou was in the kitchen, no doubt.

"How was your day?" Todoroki asked her, looking up from the book he was reading. At some point, he had decided to raid her library.

"It was okay." She replied, shrugging off her coat. "Had a meeting, but otherwise there wasn't much."

She chose not to mention her encounter with the lieutenant.

* * *

Somebody was saying something.

Momo's thoughts were muddled, she only wanted to sleep.

Then it hit her. Somebody was saying something. Somebody was moving around. In her bedroom.

Something cold touched her shoulder, making her eyes shoot open and reflexively grab the bo staff neatly hidden away at the head of her bed.

In a practiced, ingrained motion it swung around, hitting something or somebody close to her. She blinked, the faint moonlight falling through the curtains hardly enough to light up her room.

She jumped up into a defensive stance, straining her sight to make out the moving figure in front of her.

"…fuck." Came a muffled sound.

She relaxed slightly. "Todoroki? What are you doing in my room?"

"I was trying to wake you up." Todoroki replied, his voice weirdly nasal. "I think you broke my nose."

Momo didn't reply, only reaching over her nightstand to switch on a lamp. Sure enough, his nose looked a bit out of place.

"Why were you trying to wake me up?" She glanced at the clock. "It's one in the morning."

"I have a favour to ask of you." He gently put a finger to his nose, probing it before setting it back into place. "One of my friends got injured and needs medical attention."

Momo blanched. "Send him to the ER. I don't do living patients."

"Technically, he isn't living."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "What is it? A scratch, a cut? Is it really that urgent if he's one of you?"

"Well, he's not a vampire. He's a werewolf." Todoroki explained.

"Werewolves, vampires, whatever." She yawned. "Is it life-threatening? No? Then I'm going back to bed."

"It kind of sounded urgent."

"Kind of? Please be more specific, Todoroki."

"Well, according to the crow, there's blood everywhere and somebody was screaming and crying. I'm assuming that was Midoriya."

Midoriya? Where had she heard that name before? Also, did he just say _crow_?

The bedroom door opened, flooding the room with the bright light from the hallway, Bakugou's hair marking a stark silhouette in the doorframe.

"Leave it be. It's just fucking Deku."

Todoroki glanced over his shoulder and furrowed his brows. "He's my friend. If something happened to him, I want to make sure he's okay."

"He probably did something stupid and injured himself again." Bakugou scoffed. "Leave him be."

Momo looked at Todoroki. "Is what Bakugou said true?"

Todoroki went silent and pointedly looked away. A few seconds later, he opened his mouth. "Well, I can't deny that Midoriya is prone to injuring himself, but it might be something serious this time. What if he got attacked?"

"You don't even believe that yourself!" The blonde vampire retorted hotly.

"Time out." Momo interjected. "Tell me if it's life-threatening or not. If it is, we'll go and take care of him. If not, I'm going back to bed and so will you two."

"According to the crow, it looks pretty ugly." Todoroki repeated steadfastly.

"Okay, first of all, stop letting random animals into my apartment. Secondly, do you really believe he's in danger?" Momo held up two fingers, looking Todoroki in the eye.

"It's Midoriya, so yes." He answered without hesitation.

"I'm telling you, it's probably nothing." Bakugou grumbled before walking away.

Momo watched him for a few seconds, then sighed. "You've already woken me up, so we might as well go."

Todoroki's mismatched eyes seemingly lit up as they focused on her. "Really?"

She slid her feet into a pair of fluffy slippers and nodded. "Yeah, let's get this over and done with. I'm tired."

She grabbed a coat on the way out of her room, slinging it over her shoulders, as well as a medical kit. "So, where to?"

"It's probably faster if I take you there." Todoroki said, walking over to the balcony and holding his arm out for a black crow. It seemed to gesture something which he responded to by nodding.

Momo came to a stop beside him, curiously looking at the bird. "Can you talk to all animals?"

"I'm not an animal." The crow responded with a deep voice. "I'm an envoy of darkness."

Momo blinked, glanced at Todoroki, then at the bird. "Is this normal?"

"Not really." Todoroki replied. "But that doesn't matter. Take us to Midoriya, crow."

"My name is Tokoyami, remember it well." The crow replied calmly. "Follow me."

Before Momo could ask _how_ they were supposed to do that, the cold night air was whipping through her hair, eliciting an unintentional yelp from her.

"T-T-T-Todoroki?! What's the meaning of this?!" She looked up at the vampire who had clutched her under his arm like a bag.

He landed on a nearby roof effortlessly, propelling himself into the air again. "I told you, it's faster if I take you to him."

"Why couldn't we take the car?! This is worse than bungee-jumping!" She clutched onto the medical kit with her dear life, clenching her eyes shut.

"Bungee-jumping? What's that?" He asked curiously, looking at her.

"It's a sport that involves a b- AHHHH BUILDING! BUILDING! EYES FORWARD!" She started shrieking desperately, one hand pointing at the looming skyscraper in front of them.

Todoroki turned his head, narrowly dropping down to avoid impact. With a sidestep and a hop, they were in the air again, Tokoyami's small form leading the way.

Momo squinted, the fast onslaught of air making it hard to breathe and see. "Please pay more attention!" She chided him, heart still hammering in her chest.

"Sorry, I haven't done this in a while. I guess I'm a bit out of practice." He replied with a frown.

"Out of practice?" She repeated in disbelief.

"It's a bit like… riding a bicycle."

"Don't compare jumping across roofs to riding a bicycle!"

"When I think about it, it's the most accurate analogy I can come up with." He put his free hand to his chin and pondered. "You know, that feeling of kn-"

"EYES FORWARD!"

* * *

Momo fell to her knees, embracing the cold ground with an immense appreciation. "I think I had three heart attacks in the last ten minutes."

"You're exaggerating." Todoroki remarked calmly, stretching his legs a bit.

"Stop being so overly dramatic." Tokoyami shook his wings before folding them back neatly. "Now, follow me into the precipice of madness, where your friend awaits you."

"Todoroki."

"Yes, Yaoyorozu?"

Momo blanched. "Please don't tell me you actually believe that your friend is in a 'precipice of madness'."

"It's Midoriya. He just might be."

Momo pushed herself to her feet slowly. "Todoroki, I'm starting to lose my faith in you."

"You had faith in me?"

Momo briskly walked past him. "Not anymore. Not anymore."

* * *

Tokoyami led them under a bridge, where a form was lying, unmoving.

"Midoriya, wake up. I brought your friends." The crow poked the form.

Momo squinted in the dark, digging her phone out of her coat pocket with her free hand. Once her fingers found the flashlight app, she could see the heaving young man with wild, green hair.

He was covered in blood, that much was true.

The man looked at her for a few seconds, his brows knitting into a confused scowl. "Who are you?"

"My name is Dr. Yaoyorozu. I'm here to treat your wounds." She introduced herself.

"You're wearing pyjamas. And you're barefoot." He remarked dryly.

"And you're bleeding. Any other astute observations you want to add?"

"Midoriya. What did you do this time?" Todoroki joined the conversation.

"…Todoroki? Is that you?" Midoriya asked in awe. "How long has it been since we've seen each other?"

"A few decades. This is Yaoyorozu, by the way. She's a doctor." Todoroki gestured towards her.

"I already introduced myself." Momo sighed. "So, where's the pain?" She knelt down next to him, pulling a pair of gloves over her hands.

"Uh, Todoroki, does she… you know?" Midoriya nervously looked between the vampire and her.

"Yes."

"Oh, she does?" Midoriya seemed to start sweating. "I see, so she knows. Ah, okay."

"Just tell me where the wound is." Momo cut him off.

Slowly, Midoriya untangled his arms and showed her his left underarm, bone protruding at an odd angle.

"Todoroki, hold my phone, keep the light at this angle." She instructed him, to which he obliged wordlessly.

"Also, he's not in danger, nor are his injuries life-threatening." She added. "I'm afraid I have to admit that Bakugou was right."

"I stand corrected."

Midoriya perked. "You know Kacchan?"

"Who's that?" Momo asked, confused.

"He's referring to Bakugou. His first name is Katsuki." Todoroki explained.

" _Kacchan_? You call him _Kacchan_?!" She whipped her head around. "No way. Impossible."

Suddenly it dawned on her. "Oh my- You're Deku! The Deku he always talks about!"

Midoriya laughed awkwardly. "That's me. You see, my first name is Izuku…"

Momo shook her head in disbelief while taking out the things necessary to set his broken arm. "That aside, what did you do?"

"Oh, uh, you see…" He averted his gaze. "I, uh, mnm…" He mumbled something under his breath a blush spreading across his face.

"Speak up."

"I was trying a new move, but it unexpectedly backfired. I swear I knew what I was doi-AAAAAAAHHH!"

Momo stopped pouring the rubbing alcohol over his wound, not feeling the least bit apologetic. She looked him in the eye. "Has anybody ever told you you're stupid and reckless?"

"Yes, quite a few people actually." The green-haired man admitted through tears.

Wordlessly, Momo packed her things and stood up. "Todoroki, take me back home."

Midoriya looked at her with big, wide, incomprehensive green eyes. "Y-You're leaving? But, but wh-"

"I'm afraid I can't cure stupidity. You're a werewolf, right? Go and bathe in moonlight or something." She huffed, spinning on her heel and taking long strides away.

A few seconds later, Todoroki caught up to her, handing her back her phone. "My bad."

She pocketed it and grimaced. "Just so you know, you owe me for this."

"But you didn't do anyth-"

"YOU OWE ME FOR THIS."

* * *

When they got back to her apartment, Bakugou was in the kitchen, reading something.

Momo came to a halt next to him. "I'm sorry, I should've listened to you."

"If you understand now, then it's okay." He grumbled in response.

She patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, Kacchan."

* * *

 **AN: It's another update, introducing a few more characters!**

 **It'd be great if you could leave a review before closing the tab :)**

 **~Emi**


	4. Grocery Shopping Chronicles

**AN: Thank you for all the lovely reviews :3**

* * *

 **IV. Grocery Shopping Chronicles**

"Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes…"

Shouto watched as Yaoyorozu scanned the selection of small red fruit, deeming which one would be best.

About a minute later she finally made up her mind and put a packet into their shopping cart. "Alright, we should get some vegetables as well… maybe some pumpkin? What do you think, Todoroki?"

He glanced at her as she directed her attention towards the round orange shapes to their left. Reaching over, he picked one up and weighed it in his hand. "If you're planning to smash this into Bakugou's face, I approve 100%."

She gasped and snatched the pumpkin out of his hand. "W-What?! No! It's for cooking! Cooking! And that was _one_ time!"

Shouto sighed. "To be fair, you kinda had it coming."

She raised a brow. "Excuse me? You're the one who could've warned me or something."

"I didn't think you'd do something like call him by his nickname. Even I don't do that, and I've known him for a long time." He lamented, thinking back to incident of the previous night.

"I'm sorry, can you blame me? I was too curious, and I definitely didn't expect Bakugou to respond by throwing _a tomato_ at me." She crossed her arms after putting the pumpkin back.

"You responded by chucking an apple at him, then you tried to reach for the kitchen knife." Shouto pointed out. "If you ask me, a mushy tomato is the lesser evil of the two."

"Well, nobody's asking you." She muttered under her breath.

"But, if you want to plant this pumpkin in his face, I'll support you all the way."

"I already told you, that's not what we're using it for." She looked at her phone again. "Okay, we're not taking the pumpkin. Let's just grab some cucumber and move on."

* * *

Momo sighed as Todoroki scanned the assortment of soba the store offered. She had already retrieved most of the other items on their list in the meantime, and he still hadn't made up his mind. Well, this is what she got for agreeing to cook soba.

"Yaoyorozu, do you like soba?" He asked suddenly.

She finished typing an email and looked up, only to find his gaze still trained on the buckwheat noodles. "Why shouldn't I?" She responded, packing her phone away.

"I was just wondering. What kind of soba do you prefer the most?"

"I'm good with anything, but you already mentioned that you wanted Zaru Soba, right? Why the sudden change of heart?"

"It's not a change of heart." He hummed. "I was just curious."

"Whatever it is, please make up your mind soon." She rubbed her temples, groaning internally when her phone vibrated again, having just put it away.

She scowled at her newest email, not noticing that Todoroki had put something in the cart. Gnawing on her lower lip, she forcefully tapped away at her screen, sending the replying email off with disdain.

"You look like you're about to snap your phone in half." Todoroki commented, making her redirect her scowl at him.

"It's nothing." She sighed, muting her phone and pushing it to the depths of her purse. She really didn't want to deal with the upper echelon asking her weird questions right now.

She felt Todoroki's eyes linger on her a bit longer, to which she reacted by raising an inquisitive brow.

"I've come to conclusion." He shared. "You seem like somebody who prefers warm soba over cold soba."

"… _that's_ what you've been thinking about all this time?"

"Yes." He answered simply, pushing the cart towards the cashier. "You've done a lot for us, Yaoyorozu. Let's make warm soba tonight."

She watched him as he walked past her, staring at his evenly split hair from behind. She sighed and shook her head, following suite. "I'm telling you, I don't mind cold soba…"

* * *

"Hmmm… this one, or this one?" Katsuki weighed the two melons against each other, inspecting every nook and cranny of the little fuckers.

Melons were expensive, and since Ponytail put it on the list it seemed she was willing to splurge. Well, it wasn't as if she couldn't afford it. Her pay check was pretty hefty, easily enough to cover for the two of them as well.

Still, he could do the least of picking the best melon this puny store had to offer.

His eyes flitted from one to the other, finally deeming the one on the right to be slightly superior to the one on the left.

"Hn, loser." He muttered, putting it back. Ponytail was already in another part of the store, having taken the cart with her so that she could get some of the other stuff while he compared melons.

Absentmindedly, he rolled the round fruit between his palms as he searched for the woman in question, weaving through aisles of various, definitely unnecessary things.

He furrowed his brows and clicked his tongue when he still hadn't managed to find her. "Where's that goddamn woman…?" He circled the main area again, keeping an eye open for the tell-tale black ponytail he had become accustomed to.

After what seemed like forever, he managed to find her. She was hidden away in a corner in the soy sauce aisle, locked in conversation with some woman.

What the hell was she doing over there? Didn't they have enough soy sauce?

As he got closer, he immediately picked up on her foot tapping against the ground, accompanied by the index finger on her left hand and her strained smile.

To Katsuki, it looked like she was about to murder her conversation partner.

"Hey." He interrupted, rather rudely as he was aware, putting the melon into the cart before sending the chick a look.

Ponytail's tight smile widened slightly. "Oh my, will you look at that? I'm afraid I have better things to do than have pointless conversations with you."

The other woman scowled. "You're still a bitch with a stick up her ass, I see." She dramatically flipped her hair. "Whatever, at least I tried. It's not like anybody wants to see you or anything."

"Good, because I don't want to see any of you either." Ponytail muttered beneath her breath.

"Hmpf, what a terrible attitude. What happened to goodie-two-shoes-Momo?" The woman pointed a manicured finger at him. "This your new boyfriend or something? He's, like, way out of your league."

"You sound like a fourteen-year-old spoiled brat." Ponytail responded smoothly. "Try acting your age."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'. Funny, considering how your last relationship went down."

Ponytail narrowed her eyes at that but remained silent.

"I'm not her boyfriend." Katsuki cut in harshly. "But I will be the guy who shoves your fucktard face into the wall if you don't get a fucking life."

The woman gasped in horror, filling him with a sense of satisfaction.

"And when he does, I'll be the person who takes you to the morgue." Ponytail added, using one hand to pull the shopping cart, the other pulling him along by his sleeve. "Let's go, Bakugou."

Katsuki didn't bother looking back. "Do I want to what was going on there?"

"Apparently, it's already been ten years since I graduated from high school." She explained vaguely, not elaborating any further. "We still need to get soap, by the way."

He nodded, wondering whether she's always had to deal with morons like those.

"Oh, one more thing." She spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"This melon looks really good. Thanks for picking it out." Her shoulders relaxed significantly, a small, genuine smile on her face.

"Don't sweat it." Katsuki murmured in response, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

Why wasn't she angrier? Why wasn't she more fucking upset? If he had an encounter like that, he would've ripped _something_ apart. If there was one thing he hated more than anything in this world, it was being looked down on. He clenched his fist uncomfortably.

Was she really just used to dealing with shitty stuff like this?

"Thanks." She added.

"For what?" He shrugged. "The melon? You've already thanked me for that, woman. You hit your head or somethin'?"

A short laugh escaped her lips. "I know. Thanks for sticking up for me."

"Tch. It's the least I could've done. Besides…" He paused, contemplating whether he should ask or not. Screw it. "Besides, why are you still in this fucking town if they treat you like that?"

"It has a special place in my heart. It's my home. It's the same for you, isn't it?"

"Where'd you hear that from?"

"Todoroki. He mentioned that this is his and your hometown, so you come back every few decades."

Katsuki looked away. Damn bastard, running his mouth like that. Half-n'-half has generally been telling ponytail too much.

If he wasn't careful, he was going to get attached.

He split off into the soap section, taking one off the shelf.

Not get attached, huh? What a fucking joke.

* * *

"I know we rushed to the store like this, but do you know what we're actually supposed to do?" Shouto asked Bakugou.

"Soup. We'll make soup." His fellow vampire explained. "Also ginger tea, and lots of vegetables."

"Are you sure ginger tea is a good idea if she has a cough?" Shouto pondered, recalling the burning sensation he felt when he drank it the last time.

"Well, she'll just have to suck it up. It's her own goddamn fault for overworking herself, it's no wonder she caught a cold."

"I still think we might be going into this too blind. When was the last time we actually dealt with a sick person?"

"A few decades, centuries, I dunno, but the principle is still the same." Bakugou grumbled. "Keep 'em hydrated and warm, it'll help with sweating out the sickness."

"Maybe… we should get some medication as well?" Shouto suggested while the blonde vampire inspected some ginger.

"You can go to the pharmacy on your fucking own if you want to, I think this is enough." With that, he put a few green veggies in the basket as well. "None of this would be happening if she stopped working overtime."

Shouto didn't respond to that, absentmindedly following Bakugou through the store. Yaoyorozu had taken them in without any obligations, even sharing her resources with them.

This was their opportunity to actually repay her in some way, but it was also unfortunately something he didn't have much knowledge of. Bleeding from a stab wound? No problem. Impromptu amputation? He could deal with that. Gunshot wound? Apply pressure and get pain killers.

But a common cold? Not his repertoire.

It wasn't really Bakugou's either, but the blonde had spent more time around medical staff to know a thing or two. Of course, the most obvious solution would have been to just ask Yaoyorozu herself, but her words were near incoherent between coughs and sniffles, and once she lied down she fell asleep right off the bat.

Even consulting the all-knowing internet only left them more confused than before, leading to Bakugou declaring that they were going to do this his way.

They came to a stop in front of the tea selection, both of them scanning the different flavours for the one they were looking for.

Shouto spotted it, but just as he reached for it, so did another hand. It looked miniscule in comparison to his, and angling his head revealed a young girl to be the owner of it.

Her eyes widened, and she retracted her hand in a flash. "S-Sorry, mister." She mumbled.

"It's okay, you can have it." He gestured for her to take it.

The little girl gnawed on her bottom lip. "But it's the last one."

A quick glance over his shoulder told him Bakugou was out of earshot. "Take it. We'll just get something else." There were surely alternatives, right?

A smile grew on her face. "Thank you, mister!" She clutched the box in her hands, spinning on her heel and swerving her head. Then the smile vanished, and she froze.

Shouto looked at her in confusion. "Is something wrong?"

"M-Mama?" She frantically turned her head. "Where's my Mama?!" The girl trembled slightly, quickly breaking out into tears. "I lost my Mama!"

Shouto blanched. Dealing with crying children? Not part of his skillset either.

"Hey, don't cry. Where was your mother last?" He attempted comforting her. The only experience he had with this kind of thing was with Midoriya's outbursts, but Shouto was also pretty sure he couldn't apply the same methods here.

"R-Right over there." She shakily pointed towards an empty space. "She told me to get the tea and return." Squeezing her eyes shut, another wave of tears spilled over her cheeks.

Shouto looked around. He wasn't obligated to help, but he also couldn't just leave the kid on her own. "Come on, let's go look for your mother. She can't have gone far."

"You'll help me, mister?"

"Yeah, let's go." He held out a hand for her, which she accepted gratefully.

They walked around a few adjacent aisles, the girl frantically searching for her mother all the time. With each minute that passed, her demeanour grew dimmer and dimmer until she was about to break out in tears again.

Shouto sighed. This wasn't going anywhere. "Okay, what does your mother look like?"

"Like Mama." She sniffled.

That… did not help. He looked around, searching for the nearest store attendant. If they couldn't find the mother, maybe they could use the PA system.

"Change of plans, we're going to ask an employee to make an announcement. Your mother will surely respond." He explained, to which the girl nodded and wiped her eyes.

"Oi, what the fuck are you doing?"

Shouto turned to Bakugou, who had just popped out from between some shelves. "This girl lost her mother. I'm helping her."

"It's not our problem, drop her off at management so that we can go back." The blonde grumbled.

The girl burst out in tears. "I-Is the blonde mister angry at me? I'm so sorry!"

"There's no need to be sorry, he's just a big meanie. Don't pay attention to him."

"But it's rude…" She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Mama taught me not to be rude."

"Then she taught you well, but he's an exception."

"I'm leaving, you deal with this shit." Bakugou said, disappearing again.

"I don't want the blonde mister to be angry at me… How do I fix it?"

"He's always angry, you can't fix it." Shouto sighed, looking for the nearest employee.

* * *

"Oh my god, are you alright?!" The woman hugged her daughter close to herself. "I was so worried!"

"Waaaah! Mama!" The girl reciprocated the hug.

"Thank you so much for helping my daughter, I cannot express my gratitude enough."

Shouto held up a hand. "It was nothing. I'll have to leave now, my acquaintance can get pretty impatient."

"Of course, so sorry for taking up your time!" The woman bowed hastily. "Thank you again!"

"Ah, mister!" The girl tugged at his sleeve.

Curious, he glanced at her. "Yes?"

"I'm sure that the blonde mister can be fixed." She grinned widely, reassuringly.

Shouto sighed internally. No, no he couldn't. But for the sake of appearances… "Sure, kid."

* * *

"Took you long enough."

Shouto shrugged, noting that Bakugou had gotten all the other stuff on the list already.

"Okay, so did you at least get the tea?"

"…"

"Half-n'-half, you fucking moron…"

"I'll be right back." Shouto announced before shuffling away.

* * *

"… and that's what happened." He finished telling the story. Bakugou had left after the first two words, leaving only Yaoyorozu as his audience.

She coughed. "I'm sorry, I couldn't pay attention to everything you said, my head is pounding." She rasped out. "But if you did your civic duty, I'm proud of you. Please let me sleep now."

Her words faded in volume as she closed her eyes, falling into slumber.

Shouto remained seated for a few seconds. It was strange. Nobody had told him they were proud of him in a… very long time. He felt… oddly happy about it.

Slowly, he reached out, removing the wet cloth from her forehead, putting his palm on it instead. Her skin was hot to the touch. Too hot, like a mad, raging fire. A fire that consumed all…

He gasped quietly, retracting his hand quickly. That… that was not something he wanted to think about. Not now.

"…Todoroki? What is it?" Yaoyorozu cracked an eye open tiredly.

"I just remembered something." He sighed, putting the cloth back. "It's nothing worth thinking about. Sorry for waking you."

"If that's all…" She murmured, drifting back to sleep.

* * *

Katsuki immediately noticed that something was wrong with Half-n'-half when he entered the kitchen. He shot him a look. "Spill."

Todoroki seemed to contemplate it for a few seconds. "…I remembered some unpleasant things."

Katsuki frowned. "Are you seriously worried about that? The association has things under control. It's not our fucking problem anymore."

The other vampire looked at his left hand. "I don't think we'll ever be able to cut our ties to it completely. We were involved pretty deeply, after all."

"You're just saying that to spite me." Katsuki filled a thermos with hot tea. "We're too old for that kind of stuff now."

Todoroki went silent, and he already had a good idea of what the half-n'-half bastard was thinking. Katsuki sighed. "But if it reassures you, we might as well take some safety precautions. It never hurts to be prepared for the worst."

Todoroki nodded slowly. "I agree."

* * *

Momo made a mental note to never fall sick again. Bakugou and Todoroki had gone a bit… overboard when taking care of her.

The freezer was packed with litres of chicken stock, their vegetable selection consisted of nothing but the healthiest greens and she was pretty sure they spent too much money on herbal tea. Had they bothered to ask her about the tea, she would have pointed out that she already had quite a selection herself…

She shook her head, that was in the past now. It was up to her to bring more variety into their pantry, which is why she was standing in the grocery store even after her long day at work.

Being sick had the added downside that they brought in another coroner, one who tended to mess with her meticulous order. It had taken a good amount of time to rearrange everything, and the fact that the serial killer had struck again did not help.

She walked past the freezer section and halted, a sudden craving for unhealthy, fried food coming over her. It wouldn't hurt, right?

Additionally, it was her money, not Bakugou's. If he wanted to complain, he could just go out and earn his own money.

She nodded to herself, reaching into the freezer and taking a few items out.

"Uh, excuse me?"

She looked around, wondering whether that was directed at her, eyes landing on the hooded figure next to her. "…can I help you?"

"Actually…" The figure removed its hood, revealing a mane of wild green hair. "I just wanted to thank you."

"Ah…" She scrambled her brain for his name. "…Midori, was it?"

"Close enough," he chuckled. "It's Midoriya."

"Right. So, what did you what to thank me for? I didn't do anything." She raised a brow curiously.

"Um, it's about something else. How do I put this? Well, you know Todoroki and Kacchan, right?" He seemed nervous.

"Yes, and thanks to your little nickname I got a mushy tomato thrown at me." She muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, carry on."

"So, you are friends with them, right?"

Momo blinked. Friends? They _were_ friends, right? "Well… I guess? We're flatmates first and foremost, though."

"Flatmates? You mean you live together with them?!" Surprise was evident in his voice and expression, in fact, he looked nearly horrified. "W-Wh- How?!"

"It's complicated, but we have a decent arrangement. But that wasn't what you approached me for, was it?"

"Now that you've mentioned that as well, it is. I'm just really grateful that… that…" Midoriya started tearing up out of nowhere. "I'm just so happy they have somebody to turn to. Somebody can they trust."

At a loss of what to do, Momo simply stared at him. "Are… you okay?"

"I'm great!" He smiled widely between snot and tears. "Thank you so much for being there for them!"

"Uh, sure, but can you stop crying now?" She glanced around hesitantly. "People are staring…"

"Right, sorry." He wiped his eyes. "But I really mean it. They've had some pretty hard times to deal with, so I'm just… just so glad."

"Yes, you've said so multiple times already." Momo pointed out. "Also, how's your arm doing?"

His eyes widened a bit. "Oh, don't worry about it! I saw the old lady, well, she was really mad, but she fixed it up for me! But she also said she won't heal me anymore after this so ehehehe…"

She let out a sigh. "Just… watch out for yourself, okay? Todoroki really worries about you. He woke me up in the middle of the night for that, you know? Don't make people who care about you worry so much."

Midoriya went silent at that.

"If that's all, I'll ta-"

"You're right." He cut her off. "I do make everyone around me worry. And I worry about all my friends, too. I hadn't heard from Kacchan and Todoroki in such a long time, so I'm glad they're doing well."

"Don't you think you should reciprocate that notion?" Momo stemmed her hand on her hip. "The first news they heard from you after all these years is that you injured yourself, do you really want that?"

"Of course not!"

"Then start working on it."

"I will!" He agreed fervently, a new fire burning in his eyes. "Thank you!"

Wasn't this guy way too naïve? She shrugged it off. "Did you need anything else?"

"No, thank you again so much, uh…"

"Yaoyorozu. My name is Yaoyorozu."

"Thank you, Dr. Yaoyorozu." He grinned, and for a short moment she thought she was looking at a young, innocent boy.

"You're welcome." She managed to reply before he left, a hop in his step. She began to wonder… could either Todoroki or Bakugou ever smile like that?

She laughed to herself. No, that was just ridiculous.

Still, it was a nice feeling. Her eyes fell to all the junk food in her shopping cart. Maybe she'd listen to Bakugou and put one or two things back. But not everything.

* * *

"Sit down." Bakugou's tone was abnormally serious as he patted the dining table.

Todoroki was also already there, nursing a cup of steaming green tea.

Momo sat down, slowly and hesitantly. "Is this an intervention? I feel like this is an intervention."

"This isn't a fucking intervention." Bakugou growled, and she suppressed the urge to point out that that line was used at the beginning of every intervention. "We just want to discuss a few things."

"And those things would be…?"

"Half-n'-half and I have been talking about some stuff. Basically, in order to avoid situations like the park, we've decided to procure a constant supply of blood."

"Oh." Momo mumbled. "I see. That's fine. EXCEPT THAT IT'S NOT!" She slammed her palms on the table. "Just where are you planning to get that blood from?! Because I'll have you know that I'm not organizing it for you!"

"Yeah, about that…" Todoroki set down his mug and looked to the side with clear disdain in his eyes. "… We'll have to visit the association for that."

"Long story short, we can get what we need through the association. The association will also assist us in finding jobs so that we can cover the fucking bill."

"Okaaay…" Momo nodded slowly, not sure she was understanding this correctly. "So, uh, what's this association?"

Bakugou crossed his arms. "The Undead Association, U.A. for short."

* * *

 **AN: I feel like my funny bone withered away… The next chapter will be longer, don't worry xD**

 **Reviews, anybody?**

 **~Emi**


	5. When Dealing With Pesty Stains,

**V. When Dealing With Pesty Stains, Use Baking Soda**

Momo's phone rang, but upon seeing the number she muted it, continuing her routine. It was way too early in the morning to deal with her family now.

She still had her mind and hands full with the whole association thing Bakugou brought up recently, after all.

* * *

The doorbell rang. Shouto furrowed his brows and looked at the time, wondering who it could be. Not Yaoyorozu, she was at work. Maybe the postman? But they weren't expecting anything…

He opened the door, coming face-to-face with a man when he did. After taking in the man's appearance, his suit and loosened tie, as well as his tired, nervous expression, he quickly came to a conclusion regarding his purpose here.

"Sorry, we're not interested in buying anything." Shouto declared lazily, already closing the door.

The man's polished shoe stopped the door from closing, his face distorting as an offended scoff escaped his lips. " _Excuse_ me?"

Shouto looked back at the man, confused. "Aren't you one of those door-to-door salesmen? I told you already, we don't need anything."

" _Salesman?"_ The man's voice quivered. "You think of me as a lowly _salesman_?"

"You look the part."

"Look here, asshat," the man growled, quite akin to Bakugou, actually, "tell me who the hell you are and where Peaches is."

Shouto narrowed his eyes at the man. "I'm not supposed to tell strangers personal information." He drawled. "Also, if you're looking for peaches, have you tried buying some at the convenience store? I know that they're not the best, but we _are_ living in Musuta-"

"Stop fucking with me!" The man shouted, angrily tearing the door open. "Where the hell is she? And why are you in her apartment?!"

Shouto blinked. "I think you have the wrong apartment. Are you sure this is the right address?"

"Oi, what the fuck's taking you so long? Help me in the kitchen!" Bakugou's voice sounded from the kitchen.

Ignoring the man, Shouto answered, "Just a moment! There's a salesman at the door who got the wrong address!"

"Send him away! We're not fucking interested!"

Shouto turned back to face the man. "There you have it. I'll have to send you away now, I still have some things to do, so excuse me."

The man looked like he was about to bite into a broom. He must've had a tough day at work, poor bastard. Shouto sighed. "You should try the woman three doors further down. I heard she loves shopping channels and such."

"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not a salesman!" The man roared.

"Well, I don't care, to be honest." Shouto replied, closing the door again.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me why the fuck she's living with two men! Where the hell is she?! Where's Momo?!"

Momo? Shouto furrowed his brows. "You're looking for Yaoyorozu? I doubt she wants to buy anything either… She's still at work, but I can guarantee she's not interested."

The man exhaled shakily. "I. Am. Not. A. Salesman. I'm her boyfriend!"

Shouto shifted his weight. "Are you sure we're talking about the same Momo here? I really think you have the wrong place…."

"I'm sure!" He seethed.

Shouto sighed and shook his head. "Bakugou!" He called to the kitchen. "There's a delusional salesman at the door. Should I call a doctor?"

"No, just throw him the fuck out! We have to cook dinner!"

"Alright." Shouto closed the door with force, ignoring the man's infuriated voice.

* * *

Momo yawned into the palm of her hand as she stepped out of the elevator. She couldn't wait to get back home and eat a solid meal. The hallway's automatic lights lit up as they detected her motion, illuminating the way to her home sweet home.

She wondered what Bakugou might have cooked today. Also, did she remind Todoroki to clean the window? She wasn't sure anymore…

Her feet carried her towards the door as she began rummaging her purse for her keys, absentmindedly fiddling them into the lock and opening the door.

"Peaches!"

She screamed, leaping forwards into her apartment, whirling around and holding out the longest object she could get her hands on, that happening to be an old curtain rod she was going to throw away one of these days.

Once her heart calmed down, she looked at the person behind the sudden voice, disdain immediately washing over her.

Somebody stormed out of the kitchen, coming to a halt beside her. "Yaoyorozu! What's wrong?!" Todoroki asked, then looked at the person standing in the hallway with a frown. "Oh, you're still here? I told you we're not going to buy anything."

"I'm not a salesman! How many times do I have to tell you that?!"

Momo lowered the curtain rod and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What are you doing here? I told you to leave me alone." She sighed.

"He's not a salesman? Could have fooled me."

"You tend to be fooled by many meaningless things, Todoroki."

"Leave you alone? I can't do that, not when we were going to get married and start a family!" Soichirou insisted fervently.

"Okay, first of all, stop calling me 'Peaches'. Secondly, our parents wanted us to get married, I never agreed to any of that. I don't see you that way and I never will. Thirdly, if you show up here again without good reason, I will not hesitate to put a restraining order on you." She huffed, crossing her arms.

Soichirou scowled. "You're 28 years old, Peaches. Nobody's going to marry you at this age anymore."

"Have you ever considered, I don't know, that maybe I don't want to get married?" She rolled her eyes, sarcasm leaking into her words.

"It's unsightly for a woman your age to be unmarried!" He stomped on the ground. "If you accept my offer, I can mend your relationship with your parents!"

"This is tedious." Todoroki sighed. "You're wasting our time."

"She told you no, and that fucking means no." A new voice joined the conversation. Bakugou pushed himself past her and stepped in front of Soichirou. "Now get the fuck out of here."

She groaned internally. "Bakugou, Todoroki, I appreciate your input, but leave this to me." She grabbed the blonde by the shoulder and pulled him back, pushing both him and Todoroki towards the kitchen. "I'll join you two in a minute."

Bakugou scowled and shot a dirty look towards the door, Todoroki glancing at her warily.

"Fine."

"Okay."

She let out a long breath, then went back to face the man at her doorstep. "Look, just leave and don't come back, okay?"

His eyes darted between her and the hallway behind her. "Who are those two? Do your parents know you're living with two men? Are you…?"

"They don't need to know anything about what I do in my life, and neither do you." She gritted out between her teeth, the implications of his last question ticking her off. "Unless you have anything intelligent to contribute, I'm kicking you out now."

"You can't run away forever."

"Okay, bye." She slammed the door into his face, a shaky breath escaping her lips. Rubbing her temples, she entered the kitchen, feeling ten times more tired than before.

She slumped into a chair, resting her forehead against the table's surface.

"Get your head off the table, it's rude." Bakugou reprimanded her, setting something down in front of her. She angled her head, finding that something to be a steaming mug.

"He won't admit it, but he's worried about you." Todoroki commented, looking away.

"Shut the fuck up." The blonde shot back. "You're the one who's fucking worried here!"

Momo smiled a little, taking the mug into her hands. "Thanks."

She took a deep breath. "Don't worry about it, though. He's just… ugh. The guy my parents wanted me to marry." She took a sip of the coffee Bakugou had made.

"Why don't you just slap a restraining order on his ugly-ass face?" Bakugou inquired as he began putting food on the table.

"His parents are pretty influential." She sighed. "They would probably buy him out of any situation he gets himself into."

"This society is messed up. Not that it ever wasn't." Peppermint hair murmured. "He actually came by a few hours ago, but I thought he'd have left by now."

"He's a bit… much." She lamented. "He's always been very attached to me, unfortunately. My parents…" She drifted off, taking another sip.

"You don't have to say anything." Todoroki said, an odd trace of empathy in his voice.

"Just shut up and eat."

Momo picked up her chopsticks, pushing the angering thoughts to the back of her mind. Whatever Bakugou had whipped up today smelled really good.

* * *

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed today." Miss Jirou commented unhelpfully while taking the clipboard back from Momo.

"What's it to you? Just go back to forensics already." She grumbled in response. As much as she wished she could simply forget that Soichirou showed up at her front door, she couldn't, and it was having a clear effect on her work behaviour.

"We can't exactly have our coroner growling at people just cuz' she had a bad day." Miss Jirou clamped the clipboard under her arm and glanced at her wristwatch. "I have something else I need you to sign, it's regarding the serial killer case. Sadly, I still have to wait for the higher-ups to approve it though."

"Forever and always." Momo sighed, agreeing with the short-haired woman for the first time.

"So, it doesn't get any better?" Miss Jirou joked slightly.

"Unfortunately, not. What do I have to sign, anyways?"

"Something about what you found rubbed me the wrong way, so I looked into it again. I just need you to confirm your findings before I present this to Tsukauchi."

Momo glanced at the other woman. "You're definitely one of the more ambitious rookies we've had over the years."

"Oh yeah, how would you know?" The purple-haired woman leaned against the wall. "They call you the 'ghost in the morgue' upstairs, y'know? Half of them don't even know what colour your hair is."

"Yes, I know."

"What, really? And you're not going to do anything about it?"

"No, I don't see the necessity to." Momo explained tiredly. "I do my job and you do yours, it's as simple as that."

"How bleak."

Momo shrugged and entered the morgue again. She didn't want to think about anything right now.

* * *

"I don't understand why we're doing this."

"We explained it to you the other day." Todoroki answered while typing an address into the GPS.

Momo leaned her arms on the steering wheel. "Yes, you did, but the two of you clearly don't want to go to this 'association' place. Bakugou looks like he's going to jump out of the car at any moment."

"Just start driving already before I actually do jump out of the fucking car." Bakugou hissed from the backseat. A game of rock-paper-scissors had landed him there.

She sighed, fastened her seatbelt and turned on the ignition. This was going to be a long car ride.

And an awkwardly quiet one.

Ten minutes in, and the only sound that could be heard was the low hum of the radio, playing whatever songs were popular right now.

Momo kept her eyes trained on the road but was tempted to glance at the other two occupants. According to the GPS, they'd need another twenty minutes, and knowing traffic that would probably come up to thirty minutes.

She cleared her throat. "So, uhm, the association helps out people like you and Midoriya, right?"

Todoroki, who had leaned his head against the window, turned to her. "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"I just want to know what to expect when we get there." And keep the atmosphere from getting any stiffer, but that was better left unsaid.

"What to expect, you say?" Todoroki hummed in thought. "Well, in what sense do you mean that?"

"You've shown me that vampires and werewolves and talking crows exist. What else do I have to prepare myself mentally for?"

The vampire crossed his arms pensively. After a few seconds of silence, he looked at her again. "I don't really know. We've avoided the association for quite some time now."

Momo nearly hit the brakes at that response. "You're really not being helpful, Todoroki."

"I don't know what else to tell you." He shrugged.

"Let me rephrase that question: aside from vampires and werewolves, what other mythical creatures exist?"

"Oh, that's what you meant. Hmm, I'm not really sure about that either… I've met a few shapeshifters before, but I've also heard many stories about other undead. Basically, if there is a solid legend behind it in your world, it probably exists."

Wow. Todoroki, super vampire deluxe, super helpful. Not.

She shook her head slightly. "Okay, I get it. Expect the unexpected."

* * *

It was unexpected, but Momo found that nothing really surprised her anymore, not after all that had already happened. She wondered why even bothered asking Todoroki in the car.

"Mr. Aizawa, back in high school, when I said you looked like Count Dracula, I meant it as a joke." She stated blandly when she found herself face-to-face with her old teacher who was currently sitting behind the reception desk of the UA.

The black-haired man stared at her for a few seconds, rubbed his eyes tiredly, then proceeded to continue staring at her. "…Yaoyorozu?"

"In the flesh."

"You know each other?" Todoroki inquired.

"One of the jobs I took over the past few decades." Mr. Aizawa explained with the wave of his hand. "I taught some high school kids for a few years."

"You mean you slept through homeroom and told us to do whatever we saw fit." Momo corrected him with a tight smile.

"Same thing." Her former teacher suddenly turned and shouted something to the adjacent room. "Shinsou! Do Bakugou and Todoroki have an appointment?"

"We don't." The calmer of the two vampires responded, leaning against the desk. "We were hoping to get in without one."

Mr. Aizawa furrowed his brows. "You know that doesn't work that way."

Another man slouched out of the other room, running a hand through wild indigo hair. "Did I hear that right? Todoroki and Bakugou?"

"Hey." Todoroki lifted a hand and offered half a wave.

"Hey, long time no see." The man named Shinsou grinned lazily. "I thought you two finally kicked the bucket a while back."

"As if." Bakugou cut in. "You sure you can't slot us in somewhere?"

Shinsou flipped through some papers. "Sorry, nope. We're full for the next three months. That one incident in Tokyo really screwed over a lot of people, you know?"

"Hn, we heard about that."

"That aside," Mr. Aizawa spoke up, "what are you doing here, Yaoyorozu?"

"I drove them here."

"No, I mean how did you get involved in this?" He made a few circular motions, gesturing towards the two vampires next to her.

"I found them in the morgue, now they're staying with me."

Mr. Aizawa raised a brow incredulously. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, according to the documents, the two of them were buried after autopsy." Shinsou explained. "Yaoyorozu, was it? Ah, the coroner in charge of the case. I'll update the details later."

Momo narrowed her eyes. "How do you have those files? I'm sure they were destroyed."

"That's… well… confidential." Shinsou said.

"Yeah, I guessed so." She sighed. It merely confirmed her suspicions. "I don't really care either way, let's just get we came to do over and done with."

"What did you come to do, anyway?" Mr. Aizawa looked up.

Momo gestured for the other two to take the reins. "Change in residency, subscription options and job offers." Bakugou counted down impatiently.

"Oh, you actually don't need an appointment for that." Her former teacher mumbled. "New policy from a few years ago."

"What, they actually managed to improve the fucking system? I must be dreaming."

"Let me just pull up your files… "Mr. Aizawa tapped away at the computer screen in front of him. "There's a coffee machine over there, Yaoyorozu. This is going to take some time."

She directed her gaze towards the other side of the room. "Ah, thanks."

Leaving the two undead to their own accords, she helped herself to some coffee. While the distance from the car to the office building was short, it was still chilly outside, which is why she welcomed the warm beverage.

She dug out her phone, checking her most recent emails. It was apparently a day full of surprises.

A new email from 'Jirou, Kyouka'? Bakugou was right, this must be one big, lucid dream.

She told herself to check it out later, vaguely aware that she was blocking somebody else's way.

"Sorry," she mumbled, stepping aside.

"My, my, a new face? How interesting."

Momo looked up at the owner of the unfamiliar voice. Spiky, long black hair and azure eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses.

"But you still smell awfully… alive." Her lips pulled into an eerie smile.

"That's because I am alive. I'm just accompanying somebody." Momo explained, pointing towards the reception desk.

"Wha- Is that Bakugou? And Todoroki?" Her mouth fell open, then she burst out laughing, already approaching them. "Hey!"

The woman animatedly greeted the two of them, only receiving one-word-answers from Todoroki and snarky grunts from Bakugou in response. She didn't seem to mind, however, clapping both of them on the shoulder before returning.

It was a bizarre scene, and maybe there were still things that could surprise her.

The woman returned jovially. "You accompanied them, right?" She slung and arm over Momo's shoulder. "So, which one is it?"

"What are you talking about?

"Which one did you fall for? Did he sweep you off your feet romantically? Save you from a stray car? Intervene in a bad relationship? Gotten on one knee and sung you the most beautiful song you've ever heard?"

Momo stared at the woman blankly. "None of the above."

"Yeah, I thought so." The woman sighed dejectedly. "They must be the two least romantic people I know. The name's Kayama, by the way. Nemuri Kayama. I work here."

"Momo Yaoyorozu."

"Yaoyorozu? As in the Yaoyorozu corporation?"

"We're not… affiliated." Momo replied stiffly.

"Ah, my bad. But back on topic, if you had to choose one of them, who would you choose?"

Momo gently removed Kayama's arm from her shoulder. "Neither. I'm not looking for a relationship at the moment."

"Shucks, you're just as much of a killjoy as they are. No wonder you get along so well." She pouted. "Still, I'm glad they managed to get through their rough patch."

There it was again. Midoriya had mentioned something similar, hadn't he?

Kayama didn't pay attention to her reaction. "We were really worried for a while, but they look pretty content now."

"They do?" Momo raised a brow. "I can't really tell."

The other woman laughed. "Trust me, they do."

* * *

Momo looked up at the innocent façade if the office building, the two interlaced letters forming the cherry on top of the cream. It was neat.

The cold air brushed against her cheeks, making her pull her muffler up a bit more. The other two were still busy finishing some things up, which is why she had stepped out for some fresh air.

So… Mr. Aizawa was part of this organization. Sure, she complained about the fact that he never did anything during homeroom, but he was still one of the few teachers that had left a lasting impression on her. And now, a decade later, she could relate to him more than ever, being an adult was exhausting.

"We're done here." Todoroki announced when he came out. "We still have two more stops to make."

"Alright, just give me the address." She took the slip of paper from him. "This isn't too far away… What do you need to do there?"

He made a sour expression. "Something very unpleasant."

* * *

"Here goes nothing." Todoroki inhaled sharply, pushing open the door to the shabby-looking chop shop.

Katsuki really didn't want to be here. Going to the association was one thing, but this was what he was actually hoping to avoid. Any second now… He could still escape if he turned around now…

The excited squeal that filled the air made an unpleasant chill run down his spine, and he could only mutter every curse word he could think of. Todoroki's face morphed into a grimace.

"DID YOU COME HERE TO PLAY WITH MY BABIES?!"

Yep, it was too late to run now.

"No, please no." Half-n-half made a hasty cross sign with his arms. "The association sent us."

The pink-haired girl frowned. "Did I accidentally break regulations again? Or did they find out that I was the one who tripped the circuit? OR WAS IT THE BROKEN STATU-"

"NO, goddammit, no!" Katsuki interrupted her. "IDs. We need new fucking IDs."

"Oh," the pink menace let out a relieved sigh, "for a moment there I thought the association found out about _that_ …"

"Stop talking and get working." He growled, shoving some documents into her arms. The faster they could leave the better.

She pulled her goggles down and inspected the papers. "Seems legit. I'll be right back."

* * *

Momo glanced around the workshop. The eccentric girl had disappeared after leaving that explosive first impression, leaving behind silence.

"So… I think I understand why you don't like coming here." She mumbled awkwardly.

"Good for you." Bakugou said. "Good for you."

"Unfortunately, Hatsume is the best person for this job." Todoroki added with a sigh. He seemed a bit antsy, nervously glancing at the various gadgets strewn around.

"I never knew this place existed…" Something caught her eye, so she went over to inspect it. It looked like a gauntlet of sorts…

"Don't touch that!" Todoroki suddenly pulled her back. "It might explode unexpectedly!"

"Explode… unexpectedly?"

"In this room, nothing is what it seems." He shook her by the shoulders, staring into her eyes intensely. "It's dangerous, everything is a booby trap. Everything!"

"I think you're exaggerating." She gently took his hands off her. "What are the odds of s-"

"I agree with him. Don't. Touch. Anything." Bakugou whispered cautiously.

"Stop being so overdramatic." Momo stemmed her hands on her hips. "These look harmless."

"That's their secret." Todoroki put a finger to her lips. "If you speak too loudly, something might go off."

"Clearly, you're being ridiculo-" A loud crackle cut her off, proving her wrong. The three of them stared at the sparks coming from an uninsulated cable.

"Guys. Door. Now!" She whispered hastily.

* * *

"Ahahahahahahaha!" Hatsume scratched the back of her head while laughing. "Whew, it's a good thing the explosion didn't do too much damage."

Shouto glanced to his right and to his left. Neither Yaoyorozu nor Bakugou seemed the slightest bit amused.

"Well, anyway, here ya' go, nice and shiny." She grinned and held out two ID cards. "Be sure to drop by again soon!"

"… Is she not even going to thank us for using the fire extinguisher?" Yaoyorozu asked after the pink-haired woman left again.

"That's not how Hatsume does things." Shouto sighed. "At least she doesn't bother to remember our names. Midoriya is less fortunate than us in that aspect."

"I'm starting to think his life is rougher than I thought." She rubbed her eyes. "Okay, where to next? We don't have all day."

* * *

The restaurant looked inconspicuous from the outside, not overly fancy nor particularly run down. 'Decent' would be the word Momo'd use.

And for the first time that day, things seemed to go just as expected. No awkward reunions, no crazy woman, just two fairly normal waiters leading them inside the building.

"You're here for the interview, right?" The male waiter grinned sympathetically.

"Yes, that'd be us. Thank you for agreeing to see us on such a short notice." Todoroki said.

"Don't worry, it's our pleasure! We're a bit short-handed right now, so we're grateful for every single applicant. What do you think, Ashido?"

"He has a good face. The other one too." His pink-haired colleague said seriously.

"Ashido, you can't judge a man by his face." The redhead chastised. "You have to judge him by his MANLY SPIRIT!"

Bakugou narrowed his eyes. "I hate it here already."

"Act your age, Bakugou." Momo smiled tightly and patted him on the shoulder. "Act your age."

"Why the fuck am I doing this again?" The blonde muttered beneath his breath, barely loud enough for her to pick them up.

"Because you held a grand speech about it. Todoroki is my witness. Isn't that right, Todoroki?"

"I'm her witness." The other vampire replied instantly.

"Not. Fucking. Helping."

Momo had to hide a snigger. Todoroki the helpful vampire has struck again.

"Ah, please don't fight." The redhead intervened. "We received your files from the association. You're applying as a waiter and a chef, right?"

"Yes." Todoroki said. "He might not look like it, but he is a pretty good cook."

"You bet your fucking life I am." The blonde man crossed his arms.

"Alright, we've gone through your previous work experiences," The pink-haired girl clasped her hands together, "and I'm pretty sure I've heard one or two rumours about the two of you, but I'm professional enough not to let that sway my judgement."

Momo wasn't sure if it was intentional or not, but the girl looked far from professionally unbiased.

"You do have the qualifications and experience in customer service we want around here, but you'll still have to pass a few minor tests and talk to our manager." The redhead flipped through a few papers. "Wait here for a minute."

The two restaurant employees disappeared into the backroom, leaving the three of them outside.

Experience in customer service? Really? Momo wouldn't mind having a look at those résumés. She glanced at the two vampires. "So, what's your verdict?"

"It'll have to do." Bakugou grumbled.

"It's okay." Todoroki added.

"Glad to hear that." She checked the time. "I have to get back to the station now, so take these." After rummaging through her bag, she found the two items in question. "Don't lose it, okay? I'll see you two later."

With that, she left the restaurant.

* * *

Shouto stared at the metallic item for a few seconds. "…a key?"

"It's the apartment key." Bakugou stuffed it into his trouser pocket. "She trusts us way too much."

It was small, but solid and heavy with many implications and responsibilities.

Bakugou was right. She trusted them too much. Still… he fiddled with the key, it's weight oddly reassuring in his palm, only putting it away when the waiters returned with the manager.

* * *

Five minutes. Momo was five minutes too late. She stared at the plain elevator doors. Five minutes. It was the first time she had been too late.

Not that anybody noticed, but to her it was something new. A cathartic feeling washed over her, the lack of guilt she felt almost bothering her.

"You're late."

It seemed somebody did notice. Jirou was waiting in front of the morgue, tapping her combat boots on the ground impatiently.

Oh, right. The email. The email Momo never came around to reading.

"Did you… need something? I saw your email, but I haven't read it yet."

"In that case, don't bother." Jirou waved her hand dismissively. "I didn't get authorization for this, but I guess we can say it came up in casual conversation. So, about that serial killer case… you wrote that none of the victims had defensive wounds, right? But according to our results, one of them had foreign DNA under their fingernails."

"Foreign DNA? Seriously?"

"Yeah, but get this, apparently it's dead skin cells. By that I mean dead for a long time. I'd like to think you aren't as careless as to accidentally get some other corpse's DNA mixed up in the sample, so I can't help but wonder what it means."

Momo furrowed her brows in thought. Dead skin cells from the possible perpetrator? "What, was he attacked by a zombie?" She joked absentmindedly.

Wait. No. It couldn't be. She shook her head. Impossible. Definitely not. Haha. Ahaha. No.

She cleared her throat. "Jirou, remind me to make a phone call later."

* * *

 **AN: Whew, this chapter introduced a whole lot of new characters in one fell swoop ^^'**

 **I hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review if you did ;))**

 **~Emi**


	6. With A Side Dish Of Serial Killer

**VI. With A Side Dish Of Serial Killer**

"Hmmmmm…"

Mina clutched her serving tray to her chest and grinned. "A penny for your thoughts?"

Kirishima crossed his arms and wrinkled his brow further. "I've been wondering… have we always had this many female customers?"

She wheezed, freeing one hand to clap her co-worker on the shoulder. "Oh my god, Kirishima, never change, okay?" She choked out between roaring laughter.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, confusion lacing his voice, with a head tilt that made him look like an innocent puppy.

"Never change, good friend." She walked past him, lifting a hand dramatically in a curt wave.

"Ashido, you're walking in the wrong direction." He pointed out.

She glanced over her shoulder, glowering at him. "And you're ruining a heartfelt moment."

"No, I'm not, we should be working right now, anyways."

"Says Mr. "Wow we have so many chicks in our restaurant now"." She puffed her cheeks and walked past him, again. Admittedly, that wasn't the best comeback, but it was late and the kitchen was calling her.

To be precise, the new chef, Mr. Pot Mouth Bakugou, was calling her.

"Yo, Pinky! Next order is up!"

"Right-o!" She loaded the plates onto her tray and went out again.

The two newest additions to their staff really breathed some life into the restaurant – for better or for worse.

Todoroki was a customer magnet, just as she thought. Having him clean the outside tables in the middle of November was the best decision she has ever made.

And while Bakugou also had a very good face, it was very fortunate that he applied for a chef position, far away from the patrons. It was a good balance, even if getting used to them had taken a bit of time.

She nodded to Todoroki curtly when she passed him, a gesture which he returned.

* * *

Momo fiddled with the small paper card between her fingers. Despite being extremely determined to do so, she never went through with making that phone call. She was sure that Lt. Yagi worked for the association in some way, but did he already know? Was that why he was brought in on the case?

Somehow, it didn't feel right, not yet.

She tucked the card away and let out a long sigh. How was she going to explain this to Jirou? Would she just lie?

No, that was stupid. She could just say she couldn't reach him? Not that it was the best solution either…

Maybe Jirou would forget? Please, as if. Jirou wasn't that kind of person. What if she just tried laughing it off? No, that wouldn't work either, the other woman would just become suspicious.

What if she told… a half-truth? Yeah, something along the lines of "it was a bad idea after all", yeah, that could work…

Xxx

Jirou didn't look impressed. "Who were you going to call, the ghostbusters? If yes, then I agree that it was a bad idea."

Momo did her best to keep a calm disposure. "Well, not exactly, but let's just forget about this for now."

"So I take it we aren't dealing with zombies." The purple-haired woman stemmed her hands on her hips and glanced at the corpses. "You think the perpetrator touched another dead body right beforehand? Even if that sounds kinda unlikely…"

"I'm not too sure either." Momo said. It was only half a lie, in her defense, she couldn't prove anything yet, after all.

* * *

 _It was hot. Scalding, burning. Bright. So bright._

 _The flames danced innocently while they ate away everything around him. Red, orange, yellow, blue._

 _Blinding. He couldn't see anything but the bright, bright fire._

 _His throat was charred, begging for oxygen. He tried screaming, but nothing came out._

 _It hurt. It hurt so much._

 _It burned. So much._

 _He tried reaching out, he had to get away. If only he could get a hold of it...!_ _  
_ _He gasped, finding that his fingers were bright red, blisters bleeding crimson, leaving a trail of liquid that almost evaporated immediately._

 _He curled his fingers, numbed to the pain._

 _Was this the end…?_

* * *

Shouto woke with a gasp. Why...? Why was he having this dream?

It was still dark outside, alerting him of the early hour, and the fact that he needed to go to work the next day weighed on him. But... He ran a hand across his sweat-drenched forehead. A glass of water. A cold glass of water.

His throat still had a phantom drought lingering in it, and he wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible.

He snuck into the hallway quietly, trying not to wake the other two. Yaoyorozu had broken his nose the last time he woke her in the middle of the night, and Bakugou was Bakugou.

He ran his hand against the wall, using his sense of touch to guide him to the kitchen. However, he was met with a surprise when he found a dim light in the living room.

"Yaoyorozu? Why are you up?" He asked.

She looked up from her laptop. "... I could ask you the same thing."

"I just wanted to get something to drink."

"Oh, okay. Don't let me bother you then. I just need to finish up some work."

He nodded, regardless of whether she could see it or not. The kitchen was just a few steps away, and soon he found himself standing next to the sink, a glass of icy water in his hands.

His fingers could still feel the scalding fire. He gripped the glass a bit tighter, hoping the chill would be enough to chase away the phantom feeling.

"Are you okay?" Yaoyorozu asked from the doorway.

This wasn't something he wanted to bother her with, so he just nodded slowly. "…yeah."

* * *

Momo stuck a note to the fridge before rushing out the door, only fully stuffing her things into her bag once she reached the elevator. According to the radio, traffic was going to be hell, which was _just great_ in combination with her meeting at 0800 sharp.

The elevator seemed slower than usual, and she wondered whether she would have been faster if she ran down the stairs. Maybe? Maybe.

On her way out of the main door, she bumped into somebody shorter than her, and after quickly apologizing, she practically leapt into her car.

She'd have to take a detour, and she'd have to step on the gas.

* * *

"Oh, we actually delayed the meeting because of the traffic situation. We got an update earlier, and apparently there's a dead body blocking one of the main roads." Detective Tsukauchi reported, handing her a few papers. "We've been called out to the crime scene."

Momo furrowed her brows. "But I only do the autopsies. Dr. Shishikura usually does the field work…"

"He called in sick half an hour ago." He added a few more papers to the pre-existing stack. "We're moving out as soon as you gather your things."

He walked past her, sticking his head into the adjacent office and relaying some things, all while Momo stood in the hallway dumbfounded, holding a few documents.

This was really happening, wasn't it? She was going to have to do… _field work_.

She sighed, reluctantly flipping through the papers. A few pictures from the initial rescue team were included, and she could already tell that this was going to be a long day.

"Heya, meeting's been postponed." Jirou greeted her, right before taking a large slurp of her coffee.

"I know."

"I heard you're coming to the crime scene with us? Kinda weird, since Dr. Shishikura's usually the one there."

"I know."

"Shouldn't you be getting ready then? We'll be late otherwise."

"I know." Momo looked up from the papers, eyeing Jirou apprehensively. "You haven't heard, have you? About…" She trailed off, deciding to leave the question be. "It doesn't matter, I'll be ready in ten minutes."

"O…kay, whatever you say, Doc."

* * *

Momo narrowed her eyes at the reddish -black smears covering the road, surrounded by larger chunks of flesh and cloth.

 _This was why she hated traffic accidents._

The only upside to the situation was that it was winter, and the body hadn't begun decomposing yet. It also meant that once all the parts were delivered to the morgue, she was going to have a lot of… fun putting it back together.

"You the coroner?" A paramedic asked her, rather rudely if she may add.

"Yes, that'd be me."

"It's about time. My colleagues and I haven't touched anything yet, so let us know when we can begin the collection." He seemed annoyed and impatient, perfectly reflecting her current mood.

"I know how this works." She muttered back before turning on her heel and heading for what she presumed to be the torso of the victim.

This was going to be a very, _very_ long day.

Jirou joined her soon after, bringing all her equipment along with her.

"I never asked, but why don't you do field work? You're clearly qualified to." She asked, curiosity clear on her lips.

"I… had a bad experience once." Momo answered vaguely, pulling on a pair of gloves and gently probing the chunk of flesh. Aside from the expected trauma from hitting the road, there wasn't much at first glance. "Are you taking notes for me?"

"Ah, yes." Jirou pulled out a pen and a notepad. "Shoot."

"Lacerations and bruises on torso are in accordance to presumed scenario. Victim seems to have died before being hit by a car, but no visible COD on torso area. Body temperature puts estimated TOD at 5 AM, deviations due to outside temperature are possible." She paused, giving Jirou enough time to note everything down.

"A bad experience, that's all?" Jirou looked up and frowned once she was done. "What a lacklustre reason."

Momo put on a tight smile. "I'm sure you wouldn't be saying that if you had been there."

"Then tell me. Tell me what was _so bad_ about it." The other woman clearly wasn't taking her seriously, but Momo couldn't be bothered either.

She simply waved a hand. "See if you can get somebody else to tell you the story. We still have a lot of work ahead of us."

"Exactly, shouldn't that make this the perfect opportunity for you to tell me? We're going to be stuck for the rest of the day." Jirou pointed out.

"No, because we can't just leisurely tell each other stories while there's a dead man scattered across one of the busiest roads in Musutafu that is under construction right now as well." Momo said sternly. "That marks the end of that discussion and brings us to our next topic. Why was this man only wearing a thin shirt in the middle the night this late into the year?"

"…people do stupid stuff?" Her co-worker shrugged unhelpfully.

"If that reasoning was valid, most of our problems would have already been solved, we'd be out of jobs and probably doing something more worthwhile right now."

"You really think so?" Jirou hummed. "What I would be doing if I didn't have this job… Maybe… Yeah, probably…" She nodded to herself thoughtfully.

"But alas, it doesn't work that way, which is why we are here, on this beautiful day, examining body parts." Momo glanced over her shoulder and lifted a hand, signalling to the paramedics that they could already collect this piece. The previous team had already taken pictures of everything, so all that was left were the lab results.

They moved on to what looked like an arm, continuing their work flow. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a thought began to simmer.

 _If she didn't have this job, she probably never would have met Todoroki and Bakugou._

* * *

Momo nodded to herself, looking at her handiwork appreciatively. Somehow, she had managed to piece their traffic victim back together into a recognizable homo sapiens. Sure, his face may not have been recognizable, but that was what DNA and fingerprint data bases were for.

The door suddenly slammed open, followed by a wide-eyed Jirou. "You shot a _raccoon_?! You actually _shot a raccoon_?!"

Momo grimaced, apparently somebody had told her the story about her past field work experience. She sighed. "Before you ask, I didn't kill it."

"That's not the important question here!" Jirou gesticulated wildly. "How do you-Why did- Raccoon! How did you even manage to hit it?!"

"I… graduated as top of my year."

"That doesn't explain anything!" Jirou took a deep breath. "Okay, let me get this right. You were working at a burglary scene, so when you hear suspicious noises you assume it could be the culprit. Then you see something moving and _shoot_ it."

"Instinct of self-preservation."

"You didn't even issue a warning, you just shot it." She repeated once more.

"Yes, and I think that experience sufficed to have me taken off field duty. Dr. Shishikura is clearly more suitable for such work." Momo stated, hoping to bring this conversation to an end.

" _You shot a raccoon_."

"Yes, Jirou, I shot a raccoon. Now get back to your own work."

* * *

Shouto looked up from the book he was reading when he heard the door fall closed. A few seconds, an exhausted-looking Yaoyorozu entered the living room.

"Welcome back." He greeted her.

She seemed to have something on her mind, staring at the floor pensively. "Say, Todoroki… is it so hard to believe that I would shoot something?"

…what? Shoot something? Yaoyorozu?

Although… the more he thought about it… there was that one time she pointed a knife at Bakugou… "Not really, why?"

She put a hand to her chin and mumbled. "I see, so that's how it is, okay, …" She didn't elaborate any further, going to her room right away. Shouto watched her leave, a lingering confusion still in his mind.

Whatever it was, he hoped it was nothing serious.

* * *

"Dr. Shishikura's back on his feet, so thank you for your hard work yesterday." Tsukauchi smiled a bit, but it faltered afterwards. "However, the serial killer struck again yesterday. Due to the commotion caused by the traffic accident, nobody noticed the dead body until a few hours ago. Here's Dr. Shishikura's report."

Momo accepted the folder without saying a word.

Work was work. And nobody forced her into choosing this profession.

She looked thought the report on her way down, noting that, just as expected, there had been a strange substance on the victim. This time it was something thick and black.

She examined the picture but wasn't able to tell what it was from that alone, leaving her with the option of just looking at it herself.

* * *

"Hey, Todoroki, how 'ya doin'?" Ashido waved at him energetically.

"Well enough." He answered, neatly stacking a few plates in preparation for tonight's all-you-can-eat event.

"This is the part where you ask me how I'm doing…" Ashido spoke in clear, well-articulated words, giving him an expectant look.

Shouto glanced at her. "How are you doing?"

"Great, thanks for asking." She beamed.

"But you're the one who told me to ask you…"

She laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay, this persona is also cute. There are many girls who would die for the "oblivious" type."

Shouto wasn't sure why, but there was a lingering feeling in the back of his mind that she may have just insulted him.

* * *

Momo shone some light on the mystery substance, gently poking it with a metal stick. It was very clumpy, and a bit tacky. Forensics was already running a sample through the database, but she was curious. She could also smell it, and she was sure she knew that smell, but what was it?

Something so familiar it was easy to disregard… She poked it again, watching it give in and retain the dent when she removed her stick. Black, sticky, smelled a bit like… petrol? Gas?

She suddenly dropped the stick, the clattering sound of it hitting the ground going unnoticed as she shifted her attention to her other guest from the previous day. From the traffic accident. From the construction site...

The substance was tar. The same kind one would find on streets that were being reconstructed.

* * *

Kyouka nearly screeched from shock when the door was torn open and something was slammed down onto the table in front of her. "D-Doc? What gives?!"

Dr. Yaoyorozu's eyes were almost shining as she began spreading out papers and folders on the table. "I found something." She declared. "I found a connection."

* * *

"I have to say, this does seem too strange to just be coincidence." Tsukauchi announced. "A painter, a florist, a beekeeper and a construction worker, all deaths we assumed to be accidents, but so unexpectedly interlocked with the serial killer's signature."

"What does it mean?" Another investigator raised his hand. "Does the serial killer have multiple MOs?"

"It seems to be the case, or at least the serial killer is connected to these "accidents" somehow." The detective went on. "We already cross-referenced the evidence from the serial killer case to the belongings of the accident victims, and all match up. Even the _pollen_."

"How could we have missed this up to now?" Somebody else asked.

"We didn't expect the substances to mean anything in this sense." Momo cut in. "We were looking at them through a narrow lens."

Somebody shot her a dirty look, but Momo didn't mind. Unlike them, she wasn't too keen on being promoted for this breakthrough.

Jirou, who was standing next to her, leaned over. "What about the dead skin?" She whispered.

Momo shook her head in small motions. "Nothing yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I find something."

* * *

"What do you mean, your steak isn't to your fucking liking?" Katsuki looked down at the customer who dared insult his masterfully cooked piece of meat.

The man stared back at him with wide, terrified eyes. "Oh, uhm, eh, I, uh, t-there must have been a misunderstanding! I clearly told the waiter that I wanted to extend my compliments to the chef!"

Katsuki narrowed his eyes. "You insinuatin' my colleague would lie to me?"

"N-No, of course not! Maybe, there was, uh, a small mishap with my choice of words?" The man sounded more like a mouse than a human being. Tch, how pathetic.

"Pick your words carefully the next time, _sir_. I'm sure you know that time is money. Now, _please enjoy your meal_." Katsuki resisted the urge to spit on the man's plate, he had an ounce of professionalism, after all.

On his way back to the kitchen, he passed Ashido, who smiled at him warily. "Uh, thank you for at least referring to him as 'sir'."

He huffed, returning to his place of silence and isolation, namely the kitchen.

* * *

"Your shift was over three hours ago." Jirou remarked, clearly unamused.

"So was yours." Momo returned the favour.

The corner of the other woman's lip quirked upwards. "You hungry? There's a new place not too far from here. They're still open."

Honestly? Momo could totally go for a midnight snack right now. "Why not?" She gave in. "Let me just file these away quickly."

Once she was done and locked everything up, she joined Jirou in the lobby.

"Have a safe trip, Jirou, Doctor." The receptionist sent them off with a friendly wave.

"Thanks." Jirou replied for the two of them, ushering Momo out of the two of them out the door. They were greeted by the cold, wintry night air and a gust of icy wind, making Momo's teeth clatter. "How far did you say it was?"

"It's just a five-minute walk," her co-worker reassured her, "and they have a late-night special worth checking out."

"Late-night special? What does it consist of?" Momo hadn't been to many fast food chains or snack stores ever since Bakugou took over the cooking at home, so she was kind of curious.

Jirou stuffed her hands further into her jacket pockets in order to fight off the cold. "It's a bit of a mixture between dinner, dessert and breakfast. I know it sounds weird, but it's just the thing your stomach needs at eleven pm."

That did sound rather… interesting. But also kind of unhealthy. Maybe she'd just take a sandwich?

Neon lights lit up the small, quaint food joint, advertising its opening hours in particular. Momo thought it looked pretty generic, and she wasn't sure she'd come by on her own. She wouldn't even have known it existed if not for Jirou, after all.

"Ah, finally some warmth." Jirou rubbed her hands together when they passed through the doors. "And something good to eat."

Momo wasn't sure about the "good" part, but she also knew not to judge a book by its cover. Maybe the food would amount to something worthwhile.

* * *

This food was terrible. She poked at the conspicuous-looking salad, being rewarded with the limp piece of green looking even sadder. If Bakugou knew she was eating this, he'd probably throw out the kitchen staff and burn the place to the ground.

She stared at the "burger". Maybe she should refrain from eating it, just the thought of getting an earful from Bakugou was off-putting enough.

"Is something wrong?" Jirou asked while munching on a greasy french fry.

"Suddenly, I'm not hungry anymore." She watched the wibble-wobble of the yellow chunk of something that was supposedly once a potato.

"Huh, your loss. This is just what my stomach needs after a long day at work." Her companion let out a content sigh as he took a long sip of her milkshake, or sugar with milk, as Momo called it.

"An unfruitful day of work." Momo added disgruntledly, lifting the patty gingerly to find out whether the meat was actually meat. It didn't look like meat, to say the least.

"True, but maybe we'll find something tomorrow."

Momo leaned her head against the questionably clean counter, giving up on her "meal". "Honestly? I feel like we're never going to figure out who the culprit is." She sighed in dismay.

* * *

"Sounds like Toga." Todoroki remarked impassively, not even bothering to look up from the book he was reading (had he been rummaging through her library again?).

Momo hadn't actually been expecting an answer, she had merely dumped vague details on the two of them in the hopes that it would help her sort her thoughts out. "…Toga?"

"Deku's crazy as fuck ex-girlfriend. The one who likes stabbing people." Bakugou supplemented. "Came with some really fucked-up habits. She was out for more blood than even the most bloodthirsty vampires we know."

"She isn't Midoriya's ex-girlfriend, though." The other vampire corrected from his comfortable place on the couch. "She was just… very attached to him."

Momo felt a headache coming on, so she pressed the tips of her fingers to her temple. "Tell me… this Toga person wouldn't happen to be a blonde, would she?"

For the first time during their conversation, Todoroki looked up from his (her!) book, genuine surprise on his face. "How did you know?"

Momo let her head fall forwards, staring at the table's surface. There was no need to sort her thoughts out anymore, not when there was only one thought remaining.

 _Why did she even bother anymore?_

* * *

Momo punched the digits into her phone slowly, making sure every single one was correct multiple times. When the full number finally stared back at her, she braced herself one last time.

She had gone over this conversation mentally already. She could do it. It was just a phone call.

She pushed the call icon, holding her breath as the monotone ring began filling the air. A small part of her hoped he wouldn't pick up, because then she could successfully procrastinate this entire scenario, but she also knew that this was a matter of immediate importance.

Each bland ring had her patience growing thinner and thinner, and just as she was about to hang up, the other side finally connected.

" _Yagi, how can I help you?"_

"Good afternoon, this Dr. Yaoyorozu from the MPD. You gave me your number a while back. Could I ask for a moment of your time, please?" She replied. The lieutenant sounded tired, so she sincerely hoped she wasn't disturbing him.

" _Oh yes, the young doctor. What can I do for you?"_

"Before I go into detail, I just want to make sure of one thing. You, uh, you work for the association, right? Ehm, U.A.?"

Her question was followed by silence, the soft rustling of static the only audible sound. She cleared her throat. "Lieutenant? Are you still there?"

" _How do you know about that?"_ The man's voice was deeper, harsher, more serious than she had ever heard before.

"Well, I have friends who are connected to the association, and I put two and two together…" She trailed off.

" _Friends…?"_ He still sounded suspicious. _"Can you put them on the phone?"_

"They're, uh…" She glanced over her shoulder, to where Bakugou and Todoroki were still arguing about how to cut the cabbage. "…preoccupied."

" _I'm sure you and I have heard that excuse many times before in our profession."_

He had a point, Momo admitted that. She sighed. "If it's worth anything, it's the two John Does from the Morgue." No response. She cleared her throat. "Uhm, Todoroki and Bakugou."

"… _young Todoroki and young Bakugou?"_ Young? If he considered the two of them young, how old was he?!

"Y-yeah. I would put them on the phone, but they're busy debating about… cabbage right now."

" _Sounds about right."_

"So, with that cleared up, I wanted to ask you something." She shifted her phone into a more comfortable spot. "It's about the serial killer case."

Lt. Yagi didn't say anything for a while, but she could hear shallow breaths on the other side of the conversation. Why was he even breathing? Was it like a disguise thing?

" _Ask away."_ He finally responded.

"Is the reason you were assigned to this case because it has connections to the undead society? And if yes, then what would you have been able to accomplish by aiding us in an investigation that was doomed to be fruitless?"

" _Doctor, what is justice? To you, what does that word mean?"_

"Justice?" She leaned against the balcony frame, looking up at the clouded sky. "Well, the textbook definition is-"

" _Stay away from the textbook."_

"…to me, justice is… people getting what they deserve, be it good or wrong."

" _Now tell me, what do you think one must do to deserve being damned to an eternal life?"_

Momo furrowed her brows. "Lieutenant, I feel like we're straying from the main topic here…"

" _We're not. Answer the question, if you will."_

She tapped her free hand against the railing. "Probably… something bad." It was something she had thought about before, but not too extensively.

" _You're not wrong. But imagine, you're granted these additional years, and suddenly, humans seem so fragile. You'd think you have to protect them, redeem yourself, do something good."_ He paused. _"But the same goes for the opposite."_

"Is this… about the serial killer? I have reason to believe it's a girl named Toga? She has a record?" Momo tried steering the conversation back in the right direction. She wasn't sure what to make of the Lieutenant's tangent about justice, but she did know what she was here for.

" _Toga? Did young Bakugou mention her?"_ He seemed rather surprised but didn't dwell on it too long. _"To answer your question, I have come to the same conclusion. Unfortunately, she is very elusive, so capturing her has been a bit… difficult. Actually, let's talk about this more after the next meeting."_

"Hey, Ponytail, come here!"

Momo sighed when Bakugou interrupted her. "Alright, I'll see you then, lieutenant."

"Yaoyorozu, Bakugou is being difficult. He insists on cutting it vertically first, but it is clearly more efficient to do it this way…"

"Shut up! Which one of us is the fucking chef, huh?!"

"Well you are, but the orders do come out pretty slow sometimes…"

Momo put her phone away and decided to clear up this mess before something ended up broken or burning. The serial killer would just have to wait.

* * *

Momo exited the grocery store and let out a yawn. It was late, she was tired, and work today had been _hard_. Her conversation with Lt. Yagi still lingered in her mind, almost haunting her throughout the entire day. Their next meeting was in two days, so she was forced to wait.

On top of it all, the investigation hadn't advanced the least bit.

"I think you dropped this."

Momo turned around, where she found a younger girl standing in front of her, holding out a simple, silvery necklace. She touched a hand to her neck, where her piece of jewellery was indeed missing.

"Thank you." Momo said politely, even if the girl's unnerving yellow eyes seemed to bore into her soul. She closed her fingers around the small chain, but the girl's mouth split into a grin before she could take her necklace back.

Momo acted immediately, twisting the necklace around her fingers and wrapping it tightly around the girl's wrist. "Don't try any funny business," she warned, "I work for the police."

The girl looked at her wrist then back at Momo before breaking out into a hysterical fit of giggles. "Oh, this is great!" She sang. "I've always wanted to have a friend who worked for the police~"

Momo narrowed her eyes cautiously, then quickly glanced at her surroundings. Was… was the street always so empty?

"A friend?" She asked sceptically, trying to make heads and tails of the current situation. "I'm not your friend."

Apparently, that had been the wrong thing to say. The blonde's smile fell immediately, fixating her with eerie, cold eyes. "But if you're not my friend, then you can't hang out with my precious Izuku."

The girl pushed herself closer, trying to make up for their rather large height difference by standing on her tip-toes, to the point that there were mere inches separating them. The chain hold was rendered useless as Momo found herself looking straight into snake-like orbs of yellow.

"I saw you talking to Izuku. At the supermarket. You made him cry, but then you also made him smile. Unless we're friends, I have to assume you're trying to take him away from me."

Momo caught the glint of something shiny in the girl's other hand, and suddenly everything fell into place. She gasped. "You… You're...!"

"Get away from her!" Momo was pulled back forcefully, her necklace giving in and breaking in the process. Somebody stepped in front of her.

She saw the loose, faded green hoodie. "Midoriya!"

"Be careful, Doctor. She's dangerous."

She looked at his back in surprise, the deep growl of his voice something she had never heard before. It made her instincts scream out in terror, screaming that she needed to get away from him, because he was dangerous.

"...Midoriya?"

"Toga, what are you doing here?" He ignored Momo, addressing the other girl instead. "We've gone over this. You're not allowed into this city."

"But I wanted to see you, pumpkin pie!" 'Toga' pushed her fingers together in a way a love-struck high school girl would. "We never talk nowadays…"

"It's called a restraining order. One that you're currently violating. I also heard about the murders, you're really pushing it. No amount of special privileges will get you out of this one." Midoriya spoke slowly, the underlying threat in his voice ringing through.

Toga's face fell. "You're… you're choosing that… that _human_ over me?"

"Midoriya!" Momo hissed. "This clearly isn't working! She's not listening to a single thing you say!"

"If that's the way things are, then take this as our parting gift!" Toga cried out, pointing a finger at the two of them. "Get them!"

"Dammit!" Midoriya cursed. "Attacking with unregistered forces goes against all agreements, Toga. This is your last chance, call off the attack and come back to HQ with us!"

"It's too late for you to ask me to come back to you!" She wailed, running off.

While Momo would never have let her prime suspect run away like that, she also found herself to be very preoccupied with the large shape lurking in the shadow.

"Midoriya, what's that?" She asked shakily, a small laugh escaping her lips at the same time. "Surely, it's nothing too crazy, right? …right?"

"Doctor, if anything were to happen to you, I'd never forgive myself."

"That… was not the response I was hoping for." She replied dryly. "I would have preferred something along the lines of 'Don't worry, it's only your imagination, like that one time you found two vampires in the morgue who then started staying at your apartment and never closed the balcony door no matter how many times you told them to'."

"That's… awfully specific."

"It doesn't matter!" She added hastily. "We should worry about those things!"

"Leave it to me, please get yourself to safety." He glanced over his shoulder and smiled. The smile was soft, reassuring and warm. Like he meant it. "Both Todoroki and Bakugou… you're important to them… You pulled them out of their pit. You... You saved them." He went on, the serious tone of his voice so very unfamiliar to her ears.

There was no full moon, just the flickering neon lights of the surrounding shops, but he almost seemed ethereal. She wanted to believe him, that he could really handle this. But... This was Midoriya. The Midoriya that cried over a broken arm, that cried because of her one act of kindness, that cried too much in general.

Could he… Could he really do it? Nothing hinted towards the opposite, the confident smile, the self-assured glow in his eyes, the firm posture all saying that he had a plan. That he knew what he was doing. That she could trust him with this.

She wanted to believe it was possible, but… but… this was also the extremely reckless, injury-prone and part-time stupid Midoriya.

"Don't be foolish!" She snapped, fingers fishing for her phone. "I'll call Todoroki and Bakugou immediately! The association, too!"

"Doctor! That's really not necessary!"

But it was. Under that terrifyingly good façade was a different intention, one she didn't spot at first. She'd heard the stories at the station, she knew where this was going.

"Midoriya." Momo said sternly. "You can't afford to try and hide this incident, and you know it. This isn't the time to be the lone wolf hero."

His eyes widened. "I d-don't know what you're talking about."

"You do. And I'm telling you not to do it." With that, she hit the 'dial' button.

* * *

 **AN: …this is totally turning into a reverse harem, isn't it?**


	7. Vergissmeinnicht

**AN: I feel kind of awkward saying this, but the reverse harem thing was a joke (I'll work on my jokes, I know they suck).**

* * *

 **VII. Vergissmeinnicht**

"Hmm, I see." Mr. Aizawa took a few notes. "It's a good thing you notified us, Doctor."

Being referred to as "doctor" by her former teacher felt… weird, to say the least. At least his attention wasn't resting on her, the real target of his speech being a very guilty-looking Midoriya standing next to her.

"…" Midoriya averted his gaze, finding a sudden interest in the concrete ground.

"I'm just relieved the situation didn't escalate any further." Momo sighed heavily, touching her forehead with her cold fingers. The whole thing had brought on a headache, along with the deep desire to fall into bed and sleep for the next three days.

"You should be." Todoroki entered the conversation, arms crossed and a worried frown on his brow. Worried about what, she couldn't tell… "Midoriya, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Uh, sure, what do you need?" There was a trace of hesitance in his words, but eventually Midoriya followed Todoroki away.

Momo watched them walk away, wondering what was so important or secret that neither she nor Aizawa could hear about it. Whatever it was, she hoped it wasn't too serious.

"Just leave them be." Mr. Aizawa cut into her thoughts. "I'm sure you're tired after that encounter, so just sign here and I can send you off home." He held out a clipboard to her, and after scanning the contents of the papers fastened to it, she quickly scribbled her signature at the bottom of the last page.

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me, but… let me give you a warning." He tucked the clipboard away and fixated her with a grim expression. "Encounters like these… aren't going to be limited to this one. You've been dragged into this world, intentional or not, so you have to be prepared for what that entails." He paused, a contemplative wrinkle taking over his forehead. "… it's late, let's talk about this another day. Just call the office when you have some free time."

He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, then nodded towards somebody who was standing behind her. A quick glance over her shoulder told her it was Bakugou.

"Let's go back." He said, stuffing his hands deeper into his pockets. "Half-n'-half will join us later."

There were so many questions buzzing through her mind, but they were all overshadowed by the fatigue washing over her. She suppressed a yawn and joined him. "Yeah, I really need some sleep."

"You sure you can drive in that state?" Bakugou inquired harshly, but she knew he meant well.

"Don't worry, it's not far." She waved it off before digging out her car keys. Together, they loaded the groceries into the trunk, and finally headed back to her apartment afterwards. She could almost hear her bed calling out her name, and she was more than happy to respond.

When they finally arrived, Bakugou practically shooed her out of the car, telling her to leave the groceries to him and to "just fucking go to sleep". It was a rare gesture of kindness, one she accepted without hesitation, haphazardly kicking off her shoes, making a direct line for her bed, not even bothering to change into her pyjamas.

And the moment she hit the soft duvet spread over her bed, her brain switched off.

* * *

Shouto sighed. He had pulled aside Midoriya for a private talk, but the werewolf seemed to have misinterpreted the situation.

"I'm sorry!" Midoriya started the conversation off with a loud apology, head dipped in a low bow.

"I'm not going to reprimand you or anything." Shouto said, hoping to calm Midoriya's nerves at least a bit.

"You're not?" The defensive rigidness of his posture gave way for surprise, brows raised high in anticipation and curiosity. "But back there… It was my fault that…"

"Toga had already approached Yaoyorozu when you stepped in, right? Then you were only doing your job." Shouto went on. "If anything, I should be thanking you. However,…" He grimaced. "I won't say anything about how you deal with things when you're the only one involved, but when somebody else's well-being is on the line…" He trailed off. Midoriya could fill in the gaps for himself, after all.

Midoriya brought a hand to his chest, fingers digging into the fabric of his green hoodie. "I know. I'm sorry." The words were heartfelt, Shouto knew that much.

"Just keep that in mind. That's all I wanted to talk about, we should resume our search for Toga now."

Midoriya merely nodded in response. They returned to the site, meeting up with Aizawa there.

"Where's the doctor and Kacchan?" Midoriya glanced around. "I wanted to apologize to her again…"

"They went back home." Aizawa informed them. "We have enough personnel to handle this for now."

"Ah, okay. Next question." Shouto pointed at the massive _something_ that had been captured, sedated and restricted further down the road. "What the hell is that?"

"We're not sure yet, but it seems to be some kind of Frankenstein-y monster. We'll let the others analyse it over the next few days, and hopefully we'll find out more along the way."

"So, we're back to looking for Toga?" Midoriya rubbed the back of his neck and groaned. "I can't believe I let her get away like that. She's probably shapeshifted already, so finding her is gonna be pretty much impossible."

"We've already dispatched most of our available Sensors, but I haven't gotten any feedback from any of them yet. It's very probable she's already escaped." Aizawa sighed regretfully.

* * *

The events from the previous night still weighed on her mind, so much that she had spent the past thirty minutes just staring at the empty slab in front of her. There was a spot in the top right corner, but she couldn't be bothered to wipe it off. She reached over, trying to rub it off with her sleeve, but it refused to budge. With a deep sigh, she chose to give up, moving over to her desk instead and slumping into her chair.

After she had called the association, as well as Bakugou and Todoroki, who had just gotten off their shifts, and given each a quick rundown of the situation, she and Midoriya had been thrust into a game of tag, except that it wasn't a children's game this time around. She knew that without Midoriya and his superhuman abilities, she might not be more than a fleshy pancake right now.

It wasn't her first life-or-death encounter, but it was also different from the usual scope of a police investigation. These were _superhuman_ creatures, with devastating abilities. That _thing_ from yesterday, that _monster_ … The fact that she lived with two vampires had snuck to the back of her mind, drowned out by their lively, loud (particularly Bakugou) shenanigans, to the point she had nearly forgotten all about it. Monsters, real monsters, existed in this world.

And she was powerless against them.

"Yo, earth to Doc." A hand waved in front of her face a couple of times followed by a hard pinch to one of her cheeks.

"Ow!" She turned to glower at Jirou, who had entered the morgue at some point. "What do you need?"

"I was gonna ask you to sign something, but I guess the wall is a lot more interesting than I am, so I'll leave again…" The other woman dramatically put the back of her hand to her forehead. "What a grave betrayal!"

"Just give me that thing to sign." Momo reached out, pulling the clipboard out of Jirou's hand. She flew over the headline and immediately grimaced. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Beats me. Honestly, somebody further up the chain has to have some screws loose, why would they make you sign a contingency agreement? That's just a waste of effort and paper, you don't even do field work anymore since you shot that rac-"

"You can stop _right there_." Momo scratched something onto the paper that vaguely looked like her signature and pushed it back onto Jirou. "One more word about small, pesky animals and I'm personally throwing you out."

"Hey, …" Jirou's lips scrunched up into a worried frown. "…you feeling okay?"

"Just a bit tired, don't think about it too much." She put on a polite smile, hoping it would be enough to make Jirou leave her alone. She hadn't expected to find a, dare she say it, _friend_ in Jirou, not in a million years when she had waltzed into the morgue for the first time, but right now she just needed some time to deal with her thoughts regarding vampires, shapeshifters and werewolves.

* * *

Mina gave the plate in front of her a conspicuous look. "I can't serve this to a customer." She looked up at the chef responsible for making this mess. "If you're not feeling well, just tell us, okay? And if you're feeling fine and dandy, get your act together and make food that looks _presentable_ , got it? We have a reputation to uphold."

She left the kitchen without waiting for Bakugou's answer, tending to a few outstanding drink orders in the meantime. They had heard about the incident last night, but it wasn't a valid enough excuse to slack off during the day. Even Todoroki was working hard through his signs of fatigue.

"Didn't go that well?" Kirishima asked while transferring a few of the drinks to his tray.

"About as well as you could expect." She shrugged, pulling out a few coffee cups from a cabinet above her. "If he keeps messing up, we'll have to talk to Toyomitsu."

"Let's hope it doesn't come that far."

"Hope what doesn't come that far?" Todoroki approached the counter, a list of orders dangling between his fingers. "Bakugou?"

"You're supposed to be a vampire, not a psychic." Mina grumbled, plucking the list of orders from his hand and getting right to work. "But yes, we are talking about the one and only Mr. Sourface."

"Mr. Sourface?" Todoroki tapped a finger to his chin, his brows scrunching as he thought about it further in-depth. "That's a good one, I should remember it."

"I'll never understand your relationship." With a head shake, Kirishima took his full tray and went back to serving customers.

"Soooo…" She turned back to the only remaining co-worker. "Are you gonna talk about what happened last night? Toyomitsu was super vague when he told us, and I get the association is keeping the lid on some things, but I'm sure you can spare some deets for your adorable, absolutely stunning colleague." She grinned and pointed at herself, eagerly awaiting his answer. When nothing but silence greeted her, she hardly found herself surprised, after all, this _was_ Todoroki, so his confused expression was probably the only thing she would get out of him.

"You know what," she sighed, loading a few beverages onto a tray and pushing it towards him, "just forget about it and do your job."

* * *

"Excuse me?" Momo gently knocked against the wooden service desk. The front door had been open, but for whatever reason the desk was unmanned. Had she gotten the time wrong? No, she was sure that Mr. Aizawa had specified 10:30 PM…

The withering wall clock confirmed that she was fifteen minutes early.

It took a few attempts, but eventually, after knocking _a bit_ more forcefully, a dishevelled head of purple stuck out of the adjacent room. "You're early." Is all he said.

"it's called business etiquette." She shot back.

"Heh, you do have a point, but for people like us, time isn't such an issue." He finally fully exited the room, greeting her up-close. "Then again, doing things the proper way every now and then is pretty refreshing as well."

A lazy smile crossed his face, making him look almost childlike. It looked genuine but strained, and she couldn't help but wonder how long it had been since he had smiled like that. "So then, Doctor, your appointment is in ten minutes, please take a seat in the waiting area until the Boss comes and gets you."

She nodded politely and moved to the area in question. Mr. Aizawa's words echoed in her mind, tying in with her own conclusion. She was a trained police officer, but that didn't mean anything in the supernatural world. Possible threats and dangers weren't in the foreground until now, but that changed overnight.

A small part of her was nervous, she wasn't going to deny that. Mr. Aizawa seemed to have some plan of sorts, the scope of said plan was unknown to her, however.

"Doctor." Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. "Because of the most recent incident, I have been granted permission to give you something." Mr. Aizawa neatly stacked a few papers and tucked them under his arm. "Follow me."

"You'll be giving me something? Is it compensation for putting up with a certain two people's attitudes?" She asked with a chuckle.

"More like... Something that will help you in the future as long as you are associated with them." There was no humour to his words, just a grim, serious tone.

It did nothing to ease her nerves, in fact, it only spurred them on.

* * *

"We're here." They stopped in front of an old door, guarded by a number pad to its right. "In this room we store an almighty weapon from ancient times, wielded by a man who fought alongside our kind..."

Mr. Aizawa paused, then typed in a pin and pressed his palm to the scanner area. The pad beeped, allowing him to open the door. "This weapon should do you well. Let me present you with the almighty staff of l-"

"It's a rusty stick." She interrupted him.

He glanced at her, then continued talking as if she never said anything. "-the almighty staff of legends, the-"

"Mr. Aizawa, both of us can clearly see that it's just a rusty stick."

He paused again. "Yes, that does seem to be the case. Why is it a rusty stick?" He furrowed his brows, walking back to the door and checking a sheet of paper fastened to the back of it. "Ah, it seems maintenance has been lacklustre. I will have to _deal with them_ later."

"You… have maintenance schedules for your legendary weapons?"

"Yes, unfortunately most of them were forged during times where science wasn't advanced enough to know what electrochemistry was." He added the schedule to his paper stack, pulling out another form a few seconds later. "I was hoping I could avoid this, but it seems I'll have to ask Hatsume to do some work. You specialize in bojutsu, do you not?"

"Yes… I'm not sure whether I should be surprised you know that…" She muttered. Mr. Aizawa merely nodded and proceeded to write down a few things, during which she decided to inspect the "legendary" weapon up-close.

She picked up the staff, eyes trailing over the patches of rust. "Hey, the person who used this staff… what was his name?"

"Uhhh," her former teacher scratched the back of his head, "Taka… Taka-something, I think. I don't really remember. I can check if you're interested."

"No, it's alright, but thank you." Gently, she swept off a flake of oxidized metal from the weapon. "I see, you've been forgotten, haven't you?" She whispered, carefully setting the staff back into its display case. Well, to be fair, it had been centuries since it had last seen battle. In a few hundred years, she'll have been forgotten as well.

"Anyway, I'll get in touch with Hatsume, then I'll call you again when the item is ready." Mr. Aizawa finished taking notes, nodding towards the door. "It's about time I send you off then, doctor. Sorry for calling you out this late."

"It's fine, I just got off work anyway." She followed him out of the room, glancing over her shoulder one more time at the weapon that had fallen prey to the effects of time and nature.

* * *

"You haven't been getting a lot sleep lately, huh?" There was a coy smile on Jirou's lips as she leaned against the slab. "Is there a special somebody in our life? Do I get to meet him? Is he good in b-"

"Jirou, I'm going to throw you out if you finish that sentence." Momo groaned, rubbing her forehead. She was busy categorizing stab wounds right now, she didn't have the nerve to deal with implications like that right now.

"Judging by your reaction, I'm going to assume the answer is 'no'."

"The door is behind you. Please show yourself out."

"How cold." Jirou huffed, faking hurt. She passed through the door, sticking her head in one more time to add, "You know this just confirms that the answer is 'no', right?"

Momo crumbled up a nearby scrap of paper and threw it at the door, where it hit the other woman straight in the face.

" _Rude_." Jirou stuck out her tongue one more time before disappearing into the hallway.

With a sigh, Momo turned back to her work at hand, the spreadsheet of weapon casts and wounds staring back at her blankly.

It was like a spark of instinct, but she began balling up another piece of paper when she sensed somebody approaching the morgue. Without any doubt that it was Jirou, she threw it the second the door opened.

It was, in fact, not Jirou. Lt. Yagi caught the paper ball that bounced off his head while looking slightly confused. "Doctor? What is the meaning of this?"

"Uh, well, you see…" Momo felt her brow twitch. Why was the lieutenant here?! "…I was testing the aerodynamics of a paper ball."

They exchanged looks that communicated just forgetting this paper ball thing ever happened. "So, uh," Momo cleared her throat awkwardly. "are you here to discuss that incident from a few days ago?"

"I am." Lt. Yagi put the paper ball on her desk discreetly. "I heard about your encounter with Toga, and I am deeply sorry that you have been involved in this so much." He gave her a brief bow of apology. "There's nothing I can do to rectify this situation, so I must ask you to cooperate regardless of the dangers."

"Is that what the contingency agreement was for?"

He confirmed it with a nod.

"Well, it's not as if I was expecting anything else. What about Toga?"

"Our agents from the association are doing their best, and I'm sure young Midoriya is working hard as well. However, in regard to Dt. Tsukauchi's work, this will end as another cold case." Lt. Yagi sounded downright regretful as he let out a long sigh.

"I see. So basically, I'm just supposed to be careful and keep an eye out for danger, right?" She summarised for both of them.

"Yes. You shouldn't be in too much danger, but there is always a risk."

"Well," Momo shrugged, "that's just business as usual."

* * *

"Is something wrong, Todoroki? You look troubled." Eijirou whispered to his co-worker when they passed each other at the bar.

"I do?" He seemed surprised. "I'm sorry, I'll try and look less troubled."

"No, that's not what I meant. Is it one of the customers? Or something else?"

"Don't worry, it has nothing to do with the customers." Todoroki muttered vaguely. "I shouldn't think about it too much right now. You don't have to concern yourself with me."

Eijirou watched him leave again and just shrugged to himself. He wasn't going to pry if Todoroki didn't want to talk about it.

* * *

Momo stared at the email unenthusiastically, the bolded title contrasting the white background innocently. The title was, in fact, innocent, it had merely been dragged into this mess by the real perpetrator.

Her eyes narrowed at the name of the person who had sent the mail, inadvertently turning the title into his unwilling accomplice. She inhaled sharply, one hand already moving to close her laptop and forget that email even existed, but another hand grabbed her wrist from behind before she could fully accomplish that.

"Stop." Bakugou's voice said, an oddly serious tone marking it. He let go of her wrist and pushed the screen back up, bringing the cursed email back into her sight. "What's this?" He asked.

"Something I'm not attending." She answered curtly, determined to successfully close her laptop and stash it away this time. Bakugou stopped her again, to which she let out a frustrated sigh. "What is it?"

"We should attend."

Momo laughed dryly. "You're going to have to drag me all the way there, there's no way I'm going voluntarily. Trust me, my former classmates are the last people I want to see right now."

"I don't care about those dipshits. I'm interested in this." His finger tapped against her screen, at a lower portion of text containing further information.

"…the venue? What about it?"

"No." Bakugou clicked his tongue impatiently. "The catering service."

Momo raised a brow incredulously. "…the… _catering service_?"

"Yeah, I recognize that fucking name. It's our main competitor on the market." He explained.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You… You're making me attend this event… so that you can check out the competition?"

"It's part of basic fucking business practice, I thought you'd know, considering you had this lying around." Bakugou lifted his other hand, revealing a worn, well-read book. The crinkled cover page was stained by a large dark spot, covering part of the title, leaving it unreadable, but Momo knew it by heart.

She knew the entire book by heart, to be precise. Her fingers dug into the table surface. Where… How… Didn't she…?

"Where did you find that?" She whispered.

"It was stuck behind one of the shelves, must've dropped or something. It's weird you wouldn't realize, since you've made notes on almost every fucking page." Bakugou opened the book at a random part, showcasing her hasty handwriting adorning the free space around the printed text.

It was true that she had put it behind one of the shelves… had Todoroki accidentally found it? She'd almost managed to pretend that wretched book didn't exist, and now it decided to show up again? Was she cursed?

"Ah, okay." She answered apathetically after a few seconds, relaxing her clenched fist. "I hope you learned something new while reading it."

"I did learn something." He closed the book and put on the table in front of her. "It smells like a shit load of salt."

She cast her eyes downwards. It was almost funny. She'd have laughed in any other situation, but not here. Not now. She glanced at the book. The book itself was innocent as well, it was actually a pretty good book, but…

"It does, doesn't it?" She didn't dare touch it, the unwanted memories already resurfacing against her will. With a sigh she added, "I hate that I can't hide anything from you two."

"Listen up, woman, we go to your stupid reunion, get the free food and leave again." Bakugou pushed the book aside, placing himself into her centre of attention.

She wasn't sure what he was trying to accomplish by jumping between subjects like this, but she still had no intention of leaving the apartment. "See, even you're calling it stupid." She pointed out. "I don't want to see them, they don't want to see me, everybody's happy."

"I've figured out your problem."

"My… problem?" Momo mimicked incredulously. "My _problem_?"

"Yeah, it's the same problem our resident half-n-half has. You're just way too fucking reactive."

"Excuse m-?!"

"You never actively do things, you only adapt to the situation. You go along with everything and try to fix problems as they appear. You're completely reactive. You don't take action unless you see absolutely necessary to do so. And honestly? It pisses me off so fucking much."

Momo opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off once more.

"How long are you going to wait? How much more is going to have to happen until you start taking the goddamn reigns?!" He slammed his hand down on the table, and she could swear she heard something creak unnervingly.

"And don't you dare say you don't know what the fuck I'm talking about, because I will have you know that I slapped Todoroki across his fucking face when he pulled that bullshit and I will not hesitate to the exact same thing here and now if I have to!"

Momo had leaned back subconsciously, anything to increase the distance between her and him. Bakugou… was genuinely angry. At her, no less. Her eyes darted to the book. Why... Why was it always this...

"This is a prime example of what I mean." Bakugou picked up the book again. "I don't know why you're so fucking terrified of this book, but if it bothers you that much, just throw it away."

But she couldn't! If she did… If she did…

Her voice failed to form words, leaving them with an awkward silence. What was she supposed to say? What was she supposed to do?!

In an impulsive reflex, she stood up as well, firmly planting both hands on the table, blurting out the first thing that came to her mind. "You wouldn't understand!"

"I don't, but we're doing something about this right now." Bakugou pointed in the general direction of their bedrooms. "Go get dressed. We're going to that event, and you're going to take action."

"I don't have to listen to a single thing you say!" She retorted strongly. "I said I wasn't going, and that's final!"

"Yaoyorozu."

Hearing him say her name surprised her a bit, enough to give him room to continue speaking.

"Yaoyorozu, I don't forget things. I didn't forget what happened at the grocery store a while ago. I didn't forget that that bitch owes you one. And neither should you."

Momo grimaced. "I don't see the point of causing unnecessary trouble. It's better if I just stay at home an-"

"And they forget about you? Is that really what you want?" Bakugou was looking at her expectantly, waiting for her answer.

"What's the problem with that? I'm a ghost, it's alright if I'm forgotten." She muttered.

The sound of the slap echoed across the room, partially muted by the pain blossoming across her cheek, blanketed in the disbelief and anger boiling over in her. It took a second for her to realize that she actually had to turn her head back in order to continue shouting at Bakugou.

"What the hell?! What's your problem?!"

"Do you really want that? To be forgotten?" He was calm on the surface, and it was getting on her nerves. How could he- How _dare_ he- Did he know in what position he was here?!

"What do you think?! Do _you_ want to be forgotten?!" She snapped back at him, carefully cupping her injured cheek. Something cool, something she could cool her cheek with… Ah, the freezer! She had to get to the kitchen!

"Nobody wants to be forgotten. Not me, not you, not Todoroki." Somehow, his solemn tone was able to stop her mid-step. She was tempted, _so tempted_ , to just walk out of the room, but something was holding her back. A speck of guilty conscience, a speck of given up pride. "So, I'll ask you again. Is this what you really want?"

Momo's eyes stung, tears surfacing that she didn't want to spill no matter the cost. She bit them back, clenching her fists in the hope that the notion would make all her problems disappear magically. Part of Todoroki and Bakugou staying here meant them not prying into her personal issues. It had never been made official, but she considered it as such.

Did she want to be forgotten? The answer should have been obvious. Something spilled over her lower lashes, dripping to the floor near inaudibly. But she knew Bakugou had heard it.

"Answer the question." He repeated, a hint of frustration coming through. "Just… answer it truthfully."

Truthfully? Let go of everything she had been clinging onto all this time? All those times she put on a tight smile? All those times she chose her pride over anything else? All those times… All that time that was lost… All that time… Was all that time… just time wasted on a hopeless, never-ending battle? No! There had to be something, _something_ …!

Drip. Drip drip.

"I…" Her throat felt dry. She should have gone to the kitchen first. Something to drink and something to cool her stinging cheek. Kitchen. She cleared her throat awkwardly. "I…"

"Go get changed. This is the only thing I'm going to make you do, got it? We're going to that reunion of yours. We get the free food and leave again. You can't let things like these dictate your life, got it?!" His rant ended with a strict finger pointed at her, angry eyes leaving no room for arguments. "And if, by the end of tonight, I didn't manage to do anything about this stupid problem of yours, I'll back off and never bring it up again."

* * *

She had ended up complying, somehow. Bakugou had said he'd leave her alone after this, so she only had to do this one thing.

Her reflection stared right back at her, a simple, casual outfit being all she could muster wearing. The red mark on her face had faded significantly, but it still stung when she touched it. Reluctantly, she grabbed a jacket and headed to the living room.

In the living room she found two things. One, Todoroki, who had been silent during the entire argument, and two, … Momo stared at the two vampires in disbelief. "What on earth are you wearing? You look like you're about to rob a bank."

"You think so?" Todoroki pushed his sunglasses up into his hair. "I'm pretty sure this was considered 'fashion' in this decade."

"Don't forget that we're going there with an ulterior motive." Bakugou added, crossing his arms.

Their level of casual dress pretty much matched up with hers, but the sunglasses… in the middle of winter… were a bit much. However, … "You know what? I don't care. I'm not your mother, you're old enough to make these decisions for yourself."

She just had to get to the venue, let them judge the catering service and show Bakugou that he was wrong, and that she had no reason to be there.

* * *

"Oh my, look who decided to show up after all."

Katsuki recognized the snide voice immediately, not even bothering to glance over at the woman. He'd let Ponytail get rid of her.

He and Todoroki had two objectives tonight, and dealing with unimportant people was not one of them. Instead, he inspected the buffet with a sceptical eye. The pie seemed to be the centrepiece of attraction, all the surrounding dishes pointing towards it or complementing it. It wasn't a bad choice of arrangement, but next to presentation, there was another, far more important factor.

"Yo, Half-n'-half, try some of that pie."

"Why don't you?" Todoroki mumbled between a mouthful of appetizers.

"Cuz' it's obviously the main dish, moron." Katsuki rolled his eyes.

"Okay, then let both of us try it." His fellow vampire held up two fingers. "Two opinions are better than one, are they not?"

"Hn, I guess you have a point."

"E-erm, excuse me, sirs?" A meek voice cut in, followed by a trembling waiter folding his hands uncomfortably. "The buffet hasn't been opened yet, I'm going to have to ask you to return to your seats…"

"Huh? What was that? Not opened yet?" Katsuki tilted his head just enough to give the waiter his best glare. "You're withholding food from your customers? What terrible manners."

"You really aren't one to tal-"

"Shut up, Half-n'-half. I'm teaching this dipshit how to do his fucking job."

"Please, don't make me call security." The waiter put on a brave face. "The buffet will only be opened in half an hour, I must ask you to be patient until then!"

"Lemme ask you something," Katsuki picked up a piece of pie and bit into it right in front of the waiter, "actually, two things. One, do we look like we give a fuck? And two, what fucking imbecile made this pie? It tastes like shit." His hand found a napkin on the table, allowing him to spit out the leftovers of his chewed bit. The spices were all over the place, and there was too much salt. What a disgrace.

"This doesn't taste much better." Todoroki commented unenthusiastically, adding a half-eaten potato to his napkin. "I give it a 2/10."

The waiter opened his mouth, growing paler by the second, unable to say anything.

"Where are the beverages? I need to wash this taste out of mouth." Todoroki glanced around. "Oh, they're not available? Not even water? That will give you minus points, you know?"

"Hm, it looks like we're done here, we can leave again." Katsuki shrugged. "Let's get Ponytail and go."

"Wait, you can't just-" The waiter was left dumbfounded, and Katsuki half-expected Yaoyorozu to swoop in and reprimand them for harassing the waiter, but the lack of her interference was beginning to unsettle him. He glanced to the side, where he had last seen her with that annoying woman from the grocery store.

They weren't there anymore.

* * *

Shouto followed Bakugou's line of sight. "Are you looking for Yaoyorozu?"

"No, clearly I'm looking for fucking Santa Claus. Of course I'm looking for her." Bakugou muttered. "Where the hell did she go?"

He looked around the room, eyes peeled for her long black hair and the red blazer she was wearing. It was only when he almost completed his full circle scan that he spotted her. She was talking to two other women near the dessert section of the buffet line-up.

"Bakugou, I found her."

"Good, let's get her so that we can leave and take care of that other thing. And while we're there, we can try the cake, I'm sure it won't measure up to our coffee special, though."

As they got closer, Yaoyorozu suddenly approached the dessert table while still .talking to one of the woman. She began pointing at a few things, and soon enough a waiter joined them as well. "Ah, miss, please, the dessert buffet is closed off for anoth-"

Ignoring the waiter, Yaoyorozu scooped up a piece of cream cake and- "Oh my god, I'm _so_ sorry, my hand must have slipped, how _horrible_."

There wasn't a single hint of regret in her voice as she picked up a napkin and proceeded to spread the cake further across the other woman's expensive-looking dress under the guise of cleaning up the mess. "Let me _help_ you."

The other woman had been stunned into silence, a strangled screech breaking out a few seconds later once the realization had fully sunk in. "Get away from me! Don't touch me! What did you do?! You ruined it! You ruined my dress! How could you?!"

"I don't know, how could you insult me and my friends like that?" Yaoyorozu responded, rubbing in the cake one more time for good measure. "But since you want me to leave, leave I shall."

"Momo! Momo, don't you dare expect to just be able to just leave like that!"

"Try and stop me. Oh, and you have some cake in your hair." Yaoyorozu spun around with her head held high, meeting them at the middle of the buffet line-up. She stared at the two of them for a moment, then grabbed them each by the upper arm portion of their sleeves. "You two. We're leaving."

* * *

"Ugh, I can't believe we came all the way out here for ten measly minutes." Momo sighed heavily. "I still need to finish up some autopsy reports, you know? And even if I didn't, I have infinitely better things to do than deal with _those two._ " She rubbed her temple, doing her best to forget that disastrous conversation she just had.

Bakugou and Todoroki were oddly quiet, walking a few steps behind her. She glanced back at them. "As you can see, I was completely unwanted at this event. I hope you two managed to accomplish what you set out to do, though."

Todoroki furrowed his brows briefly. "About that…"

"Wait." Bakugou suddenly grabbed her shoulders, steering her to the right. Towards… the park?

"There's still something else we have to do." Todoroki added, leading the way through the lantern-lit greenery.

"Something else…?"

They didn't reply right away, and soon enough she found herself standing in the picnicking area of the park. She probably hadn't been here since her university days… it was a bit nostalgic.

"There it is." Todoroki crouched down next to something and swept some dirt off it.

It was the fire pit. "What's the meaning of this? Why do you need to make a fire?"

"Because of this." Bakugou opened her palm and put something solid, rectangular in it. It was…

"Wait, you don't expect me to…!"

"Yaoyorozu, sometimes you need to let go. It's for your own health, trust us." Todoroki's words sounded so… _raw_. It was the only description she could find for the heavy tone of his voice, that look in his eyes and the rigid clench of his fists.

She would agree with that general thesis any other day, but… the book was clutched tightly in her palm. Not this time. Not this book. It was too… It was too… It was too… "It's too important."

"To you? Or to whoever gave it to you?" The blonde next to her scoffed. "Because if it was really that important to you, Todoroki wouldn't have found it behind a shelf."

"You… you don't understand."

"Yaoyorozu." Todoroki said her name firmly, putting an icy hand on top of hers. "Tell me one good thing about this book."

"It's well-structured and very informative." She replied right off the bat.

"Okay, tell me one positive emotion you hold towards this book."

Momo averted her gaze, even though she knew the motion wouldn't do her any favours. She knew he could feel her rapid heartbeat reverberating in her hand, her fingers pulsing with every pump of blood her heart sent through her circulation.

His hand remained right where it was, and he waited. Waited for a reply both of them knew would never come. A few seconds passed, and then he took the book out of her hand. "I found this by accident, and I would have put it back in the shelf without a second thought if I hadn't seen the abysmal stage it was in. You aren't the kind of person who would treat a book so poorly."

He was right. She loved her books. Just not this book in particular. She snatched it back from out of his hold. The thought that anybody had seen what was inside it… it was almost as if an outsider had seen one of her deepest secrets, something she wanted to erase from history. To top it off, they could tell. They could tell she had spent a lot of time crying over this book, they could tell she held nothing but negativity towards it, and yet she was still clinging to it like a helpless child.

She could still remember her father's face when he gave it to her. The stress lines and wrinkles tying together into a scowl, the anger simmering in his eyes as he told her to study it, every page, every line, every letter, until it was engraved in her soul.

She hated this book and all the memories it came with. But at the same time… she had invested so much time into it. Too much time. She couldn't just throw it away after all these years. All that time… wasted…

"I…"

"You know what the best way to get rid of something is?" Bakugou cut in, pointing at the fire pit. "Burning it."

…burn it? They wanted her to… burn the book? She shook her head frantically. "I can't, I can't!"

"The only person stopping you from doing this is yourself. Physically, you are free to do whatever you want to."

"B-Besides, we don't have anything to start the fire with, and it's winter, so finding dry wood isn't going to be that easy…" The words slipped out before she could stop herself. She knew how it made her look, and that she was attacking their statements because she had no arguments for herself left. But... but...!

"Don't worry about the fire, I brought something to help with that." Todoroki began digging through his inner jacket pocket, procuring a glass bottle a few seconds later.

Momo stared at him incredulously. "Oh my god, did you… did you take that from the venue?"

He opened the bottle of vodka with a straight face. "Maybe."

"Todoroki, that's stealing! You can't just go around taking things! And there weren't even any drinks around!"

"The waiter was _oddly helpful_ after we talked to him. Besides, it's fair compensation for them wasting our time." Bakugou reasoned.

"Wh- I- How- You're the one who insisted on going in the first place!" She spluttered in disbelief.

"Let's not think about that too much right now." Todoroki changed the topic swiftly. "There's also a small storage of dry wood here, so we have everything covered." He explained, pouring the alcohol over the dried wood.

Bakugou stepped in shortly after, using a lighter to set fire to a piece of old newspaper, then tossing it into the pit. It lit up a few seconds later, the fire latching onto the ethanol, growing exponentially until the fumes were exhausted, dying down into a calmer flame mere moments later.

It was like a sudden burst of life.

Momo opened the book one last time, her fingers gliding over the worn pages, her messy pencil scribbles and notes smudging as she flipped through it. This book had been such an integral part of her time growing up, and to just let go of it like this…

She couldn't picture it, the pages catching fire, crumbling away as they turned black and crisp, finally vanishing into nothing but grey ashes. A part of her just wanted to clutch the book to her chest and run away.

But… both of them had a point. As much as it hurt her pride to admit she was wrong, she also had to admit that they were right. With a deep breath, she closed the book, for the last time. She'd never be able open it again. A hand came down on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Yaoyorozu, sometimes, we have to leave behind the chains that tie us down. Only then… only then can we spread our wings and fly."

"Todoroki, I don't have any books with cheesy quotes like that in my house. I'm not even sure I want to know where you read that one."

It was a bad time for her poor attempt of a joke, but a soft chuckle escaped his lips, followed by a hint of a smile. "It doesn't matter where I heard it, it still applies to this situation." He removed his hand, instead giving her a small push forward. "Letting yourself be chained down like this is a waste of your time and potential."

She took a few steps towards the fire, each one feeling shakier, each one begging to leave, but she had to brave through this. The warmth from the fire pit began to pull her closer, the quiver of her fingers slowly dying down with each step.

The flames danced unpredictably, bathing the pit and its surroundings in warm, orange light, illuminating the cold night like a single star in the sky. With all the conviction and determination she could muster, she held the book out over the fire, ignoring her increasing pulse, her rapid breaths and the tears building up in her eyes. She needed to let go. _She needed to_.

Her clammy fingers felt like they were glued to the cover of the book, not allowing her to let go of it. Her vision blurred as the first tears trickled down her cheek, and in a moment of a hurricane of emotions, she let go. With halted breath, she watched the fire devour the crinkled book pages, just watched as it curled up with rims of black, finally disappearing into the ashy pits that made the foundation for the fiery dance.

A suppressed sob broke free as she sunk to her knees hugging herself tightly, her tears falling from her eyes freely. It was over, it was done. So where was the feeling of freedom she was promised? Where was it?! Why did she only feel like crap right now?!

She didn't know how long she just sat there crying, and how long Bakugou and Todoroki just stood next to her silently, letting her digest these emotions on her own. But the next time she looked up, the fire had died down completely, the soft glow of the embers barely noticeable.

It was gone. The book was gone. Page 45, line 34… what was it that it said again? She couldn't remember. She should check. Oh wait… she couldn't, not anymore.

"How are you feeling, Ponytail?"

The question was more difficult to answer than she anticipated, but after sifting through her emotions, she managed to sum it all up in one term. "Tired. I feel really tired and hungry. I never got around to eating anything, you know?"

"That's not surprising, considering it's already two in the morning."

A gust of wind came along, blowing the remaining ashes of the book away, scattering them like grey cherry blossoms under the night sky.

* * *

"Hey, Bakugou." Momo tapped his shoulder on their way back home. "Look this way for a second."

"Huh, wh-" She didn't give him the time to finish his question, instead just going for it. "What _the fuck_ , woman?!" He barked at her, his hands cupping the cheek she had just slapped.

Momo mustered a small smile. "Now we're even. Also, those sunglasses look really ridiculous."

* * *

She wondered exactly why she thought she would be able to sleep after that entire ordeal, and with a deep sigh she lugged herself out of bed towards the kitchen. She did have a small snack after they got back, but her hunger was still clawing at her stomach.

A cold breeze crept over her skin as she passed the living room, and with dismay she saw that the balcony door had been left ajar yet again. "Todoroki?" She called out, peering through it and finding his tell-tale head of peppermint hair. "What are you doing?"

"Watching the sunrise." He answered. "It's a new dawn, a new beginning of a never-ending cycle...…"

"Have you been looking at poetry lately?" She took a seat next to him, ignoring the cold for now. The sky had barely started brightening, a small strip of cyan visible behind the city skyline. It was a piece of natural beauty, one that didn't require too much thinking. "You've been saying a lot of things like that recently…"

He glanced over at her, then shifted his eyes back to the sky. "Not really. Just… thinking."

"Thinking? About what?" She was curious to know. There was still a pit of emptiness in her emotional bubble, a sense of uncertainty of what to fill it with. But then again... "Ah, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. You have all the time in the world to think about life, I guess."

"You. I was thinking about you."

"… eh?" She lifted a finger and pointed at herself. "…me?"

"Yaoyorozu, as I'm sure you've noticed, Bakugou and I seldomly agree on things. But sometimes we do. One of those times was the book. And something else we agree on is... that you deserve better." Todoroki was as straightforward as ever. "We've met a lot of people along the way, so many that I lost count a long time ago. I've seen so many different ways people deal with life. But… you deserve better than this."

Momo let those words sink in. She had been hoping that coming out her would help her find answers, not raise new questions. "Life isn't really about what you deserve, it's about what you make out of what you've been given. I'm sure there are many people who deserve better, but I wouldn't count myself among them." She responded. Shades of orange and purple began bleeding into the cyan horizon.

"If you say so. I can't change your mind, but I just wanted to have said it once."

"Thank you, regardless." She pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapping them closer in order to battle the cold. A smile spread on her lips as a small spark of happiness and appreciation built up within her. "Thank you for thinking about me."

He moved his head just enough to give her a side-glance. "Yaoyorozu, yesterday Bakugou asked you something. You don't have to answer, but…"

"But…?"

"For what it's worth," Todoroki looked into the distance as the first few rays of sun began to illuminate the city, "we'll never forget you, Yaoyorozu."


	8. Cross My Heart

**VIII. Cross My Heart**

Momo tapped her fingers on the desk, waiting for her paperwork to arrive. The rhythm was simple and monotonous, repeating every four beats in a concise and orderly fashion.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

She had to focus on work.

Her father was not standing behind her, towering over her. He was not shouting at her.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

He didn't know about the book. He didn't know anything about her.

He wouldn't find out as long as she didn't say anything.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Tap tap tap tap. Work.

* * *

"I'm glad to see you're doing your work properly again." Pinky nodded approvingly.

"I don't get paid to listen to your ramblings, and you don't get paid to talk my ear off. Now go do your fucking job." Katsuki pushed the dishes towards her, immediately moving towards the next orders.

Half-n-half had his day off today, so he was back at the apartment, cleaning up the place. He thought back to what had occurred yesterday, and allowed himself to indulge in the relief that everything went well. There had always been a chance that they had gone too far and that Yaoyorozu would throw them out, back onto the streets until the next time they landed themselves in the morgue because of somebody's (Todoroki's) idiocy, after all.

Not to mention that she could slap like a fucking beast. His cheek still stung at the memory, and he was a _vampire_. Maybe it was just a 'woman' thing, that they had been gifted with the ability to slap like an iron hammer.

Especially his mother…

Katsuki broke off that thought right there.

This was neither the time nor place to think about the distant past.

* * *

" _Do you have a moment?"_

"Do I have a choice?" Shouto asked unenthusiastically, putting the phone on speaker so that he could continue his current task easier.

" _Not really. We need to talk, and you know it."_ Aizawa's voice rang from the phone. _"It's about Yaoyorozu."_

"I guessed as much. You can scold me all you want now, she's at work right now. Bakugou's out as well, though." He sighed, wringing out the damp cloth before wiping off the table.

" _I won't scold you, but I will warn you. Like I warned you before. You have to take responsibility when situations like Toga arise."_

Shouto paused, clenching his fist. "I know."

" _I've already taken a few precautions, but she's only a human, so it might not be enough."_

"You mean the rusty stick in the cellar?"

" _... Yes. The rusty stick in the cellar."_ He could picture Aizawa shaking his head on the other side of the line. _"But that's not the point here. Vampires of your calibre are bound to attract trouble, so I'm not even sure why you decided to involve her in this world in the first place. You could have easily done something to avoid this situation, no excuses."_

It was true. Shouto continued the circular movements over the spot he had already cleaned, almost robotically wiping it again and again. "She…" She had the same look on her eyes. The same look he used to see every time he looked in the mirror.

" _As much as I'd love to hear your reasoning, that can wait. Right now, I just want to remind you of a few things I want you to keep in mind. One, Yaoyorozu is the direct heir to one of the largest conglomerates in Japan of the moment. If she winds up dead in some inexplicable way, it's bound to attract a lot media attention. Media attention is bad."_

"I won't let that happen."

" _You may say that now, but where were you when she was approached by Toga? Who knows what might've happened to her if Midoriya hadn't been there? You know Shigaraki doesn't play around."_

Shouto remained silent, biting his tongue. There was nothing he could say.

" _Two, you don't work as an enforcer for us anymore. You made your choice to quit that lifestyle, and I fully respect that, but that also means that you can't pick fights right off the bat. I know many of us will turn a blind eye, but you will not be spared of the consequences. I also trust you to relay everything I'm telling you to Bakugou. Also, tell him I know he's ignoring my phone calls."_ Aizawa was in lecturing mode, once again. It was difficult to try and interrupt him when he was like that.

"I will." Shouto replied dutifully.

" _Three, Yaoyorozu is a talented and gifted fighter, with a sharp mind and quick reflexes. Outstanding by human standards, but nothing compared to an experienced supernatural creature. Just… think these kinds of things through, please."_

Shouto dropped the cleaning rag into a nearby bucket and slumped into one of the chairs. "Aizawa, she wasn't afraid of us. Isn't afraid of us. She looks us in the eye, as if… we were still human." He opened his palms and looked at them, the hands that had been covered and blood and slime and goo so very often. "As if we weren't monsters."

Aizawa didn't say anything for a few seconds, a heavy silence reigning between them. _"Then do it for her. Whatever you and Bakugou plan out, just keep her safety in mind. Unfortunately, she's already involved in the underworld, but I will ask you to keep that to a limit as well. Honestly, I'd prefer if you didn't involve her any further than you already have…"_

"Are you suggesting we leave?" Shouto cut in harshly, glaring at the table. "Because I can reassure you that we have no intention of doing that."

" _Don't jump to conclusions, Todoroki. Let me finish talking first. Midoriya has already shown he's willing to protect her on your behalf, she's already been to the basement of the association building, even Yagi thinks very highly of her. She's about as involved as any human can be. Now, what you need to do is let her in on all this. She doesn't seem to be aware of it, and it's your responsibility as the ones who dragged her into this mess. I don't know how the two of you even managed to get brought into the morgue, but it was your carelessness at the end of the day."_

"...I'll talk to her when she comes home, after I consult Bakugou." There was no other answer he could give, no other answer he'd be willing to give.

They'd assumed keeping Yaoyorozu uninformed would keep her out of their world, but that had clearly not worked out as well. There was a certain peace about their daily life these past few weeks that had even let him completely forget that he was a vampire at times. He doubted that peace could last forever, but it had been nice while it had.

Whenever either he or Bakugou managed to do something that made her smile, or laugh, or express extreme bafflement, or made her scold them, in those small moments, it was almost like they were all same-aged friends just hanging out. It was a nice thought. A nice fantasy.

But a fantasy was all it'd ever be.

* * *

"You look tired." Jirou remarked, fanning herself with a stack of papers.

"And you look like your only business here is to give me some papers and leave again." Momo held out her hand expectantly.

"How cold. Maybe I came here to have some girl talk, you know?" Jirou pouted, hiding the papers behind her back. "I'll give you the papers after you tell me something girl talk-ish."

"...something girl talk-ish?" If it would have gotten her peace and quiet again, Momo would have said pretty much anything, but she wasn't even entirely sure she knew what was considered 'girl talk'...

"You could tell me about the guy who's been keeping you up at night. Adding on to what we've already established, I'm willing to bet he's not a very good kisser either."

"On second thought, I can get those papers from the detective myself. You can leave again."

"Fine, I'll stop, I'll stop." Jirou dropped the papers on her desk. "But if there's ever a guy like that in your life, I want to meet him, 'kay?"

Momo chuckled dryly at that. "Don't hold your breath. I've already learned I'm not very good at keeping romantic relationships alive."

"Well, I guess that counts as girl talk in some kind of twisted sense." Jirou shrugged in resignation. "But remember, if it does happen, I'm the first one to meet him, got it? Even before you introduce him to your mom, I gotta meet him, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, now go back to your job." It wasn't like she had any intentions of introducing any future boyfriends to her parents, anyway.

"I'll take that as a promise." Jirou saluted while walking backwards through the double-doors that lead into the hallway.

It would have been pretty embarrassing and uncool if she had tripped while doing that.

Momo decided to concentrate on her freshly-delivered paperwork instead, even if that conversation had left sparked some old memories. She sighed, reading through the reports in front of her, doing her best to push those away.

* * *

" _You know I care about you, Momo. And as somebody who only wants the best for you, I don't think this… us… is working out." He met her gaze with a bittersweet expression, every word spoken with earnest._

 _It was one of the things she liked about him, that he freely spoke up against her when he thought necessary. She clenched her fists, her sweaty palms resting against each other uncomfortably._

" _I love you, but I'm not sure you are capable of loving me if you're buried under all your work and stress. I don't want you to feel any obligations towards me either, and what you really need right now is a break. A deep breath. Something away from… all this." He gestured around the room._

" _I'm sorry." Momo said. There was nothing else she could think of to say._

" _Don't apologise." Taro reached across the table and hesitantly put his hand over hers. "It's neither your nor my fault. It's just… circumstances."_

 _She looked up. "I understand. I'm sorry… for taking up your time like this."_

" _Don't say that. I loved our time together. But right now, … I don't think either one of us has the capacity of leading a healthy relationship."_

 _Momo nodded silently. It was sadly true. Exam after exam needed meticulous planning and studying, and she still had to work a good amount of hours off at the hospital. A boyfriend just didn't fit into her schedule._

 _Taro was busy as well, he had his volunteer work and internship taking up his time. Juggling exams, uni and a relationship with somebody like her was just not worth it._

" _I hope you can be happy one day. I don't know if it will be with me, or somebody else, but… Momo, I really want you to be happy."_

* * *

"Just make sure not to shoot anything, okay?"

"Jirou, there's nothing stopping me from hitting the breaks and throwing you out of the car in the middle of nowhere."

"Geez, rude much? That'd be pretty darn heartless, Doc. And just now I thought we were getting somewhere in our friendship..." Jirou crossed her arms, looking over with a fake pout.

"I don't care." Momo shot back. She didn't want to be here either, but Dr. Shishikura had suddenly taken ill, leaving her as the only available field coroner. After their lunch break, to add on top of that. "Let's just get this over and done with, okay?"

"Yes, mother."

"You just rolled your eyes at me. Don't do that."

"Yes, ma'a- oh my god, don't hit the brakes all of a sudden!"

* * *

"Ah, … Dr. Yaoyorozu." The detective on scene looked at them in contempt. "Were you forced to crawl out of your rat hole?"

"You know this asshole?" Kyouka asked quietly, but still loud enough for the good man to hear her.

"Unfortunately." Yaoyorozu whispered back. Then she cleared her throat. "Detective Shithead- I mean, Shitetsu, it has been a while since I last saw you."

"Your superiors will hear of your unsavoury behaviour." Dt. Shithead, as Yaoyorozu had so kindly called him, sneered back. Shithead was oddly fitting, if she may say so herself. Even if it seemed weird for somebody like Yaoyorozu to say it out loud.

"And they will hear of your inability to brief me on the case." The doctor replied smoothly, an innocent smile twitching on her lips. "So please, do save me some paperwork and do your job."

Dt. Shithead clicked his tongue reluctantly. "The victim is Aoi Watanabe, 35, resident of this house. Stabbed to death with a kitchen knife, her husband is missing. We've searched and secured the perimeter."

"I see. Jirou, come with me." Yaoyorozu waved her hand, and Kyouka followed, shooting the man behind them one more smirk before entering the house. 1-0 for them.

"So, is there a long story of rivalry between the two of you? He really hates you." She inquired once they passed through the front door of the house.

"We were in the same graduation class at the academy. He just can't accept the fact that I always scored higher than him." Yaoyorozu explained curtly, closing off the topic with those words. "More importantly…" She entered the kitchen, taking in the sight of a woman leaning against the counter, covered in her own blood. "We have a job to do."

"Yay, crime scene clean-up is going to have fun with this one." Kyouka sighed, shaking her head at the blood splatters covering the tapestry. "Those stains are never coming out."

Yaoyorozu frowned at the splatters, carefully stepping around the corpse and simulating the situation. "In order for the splatters to reach the counter over there, the victim would have had to be standing here… if that's the case, why did we find her over there?"

Kyouka kneeled down, eyes following a trail of blood drops. "She probably staggered over, there are horizontal drops leading to where we found her."

"Yeah, probably. It's your job, not mine, anyway." Yaoyorozu returned to the woman's corpse, beginning her routine check-up. "Hmm, at first glance I'd say she didn't die all that long ago. When did the emergency call come in?"

"Two and half hours ago." The police officer at the doorway answered. "One of the neighbours came by to drop off some cake and saw the scene through the window."

"And you say the husband is missing?" Kyouka asked.

"Yes, we checked his workplace, but it's his day off today. We tried calling all known numbers, but nothing. Both registered cars are still in the garage."

"Okay, thanks." Kyouka crossed her arms, sweeping her gaze over the splattered evidence. "I don't want to jump to conclusions, but this definitely looks like a crime of passion. Multiple erratic knife wounds, took place in the kitchen, a missing husband… maybe he left on foot?"

"Maybe." Yaoyorozu shrugged, sticking her gloved hand into the victim's mouth.

"Okaaay, that's my cue to leave. I really don't want to have to watch this for too long." Picking up her case, Kyouka approached one of the other police officers. "Hey, can you take me to the garage? I just want to check on something."

"Well, I can, but Dt. Shitetsu's team already searched that area."

"Yeah, but I'm not on his team. He's also not very… cooperative."

"I get you, any case that doesn't involve him is a blessing." The police officer sighed, shaking his head. "Let's not think about that, I'll lead the way."

"Thanks."

* * *

Kyouka crouched down at the garage door, inspecting the lawn leading to the street. "Hmm… no recent disturbances here aside from police-issue boots."

"Were you hoping to find out if the husband came through here?"

"Any trace would have been nice. Assuming the husband isn't the culprit, how did the perpetrator enter and leave the house without breaking anything open?" Kyouka pondered out loud, sweeping her gaze over the interior of the garage.

"As far as we saw, there were no traces of breaking and entering." The police officer confirmed for her. "As mentioned earlier, Dt. Shitetsu's team searched the perimeter and the entire house, but there were no signs of h-"

He was interrupted by a loud shout, coming from the inside of the house.

"What was that?!" Kyouka straightened in alert, one hand brushing against the pistol at her hip. The police officer put a finger to his lips and signalled her to follow him. "I'm sure that was Sawada… Let's go check the kitchen."

With swift and quiet steps, they rushed back into the house, and gradually the shouting voice became louder.

"...own the weapon!"

"No! Not until you let me go!" An unfamiliar voice responded fervently.

But there was no sound from Yaoyorozu. Had something happened to her? Kyouka leaned against the wall next to the kitchen door frame, the police officer mirroring her action on the other side. Slowly, she dared to peek into the room.

Sawada's back was to them, gun pointed at something in the room.

"Mr. Watanabe…" It was Yaoyorozu, and she did not sound very pleased. "I will ask you one more time to lower your weapon and release your hold on me."

"Not until you promise to let me go! You don't understand! I didn't mean to do it! It just happened! I swear, I never meant to do it!"

"Mr. Watanabe, if you don't let go of the doctor, I will be forced to shoot you." Officer Sawada tried appealing once more.

"You won't shoot! I have this woman as my hostage!"

Kyouka and the other police officer exchanged signals. On the count of three.

One, two, three…

She entered the room, joining Sawada in confronting the assailant. "You have nowhere to run, Mr. Watanabe!"

The unknown man was holding a knife to Yaoyorozu's throat, but there was also an ugly bruise spreading across her temple. The abandoned metal rod on the ground was probably the cause for that.

Despair shone in the man's eyes, fear and anxiety building up into an iron grip around the doctor's neck.

But…

Yaoyorozu didn't look scared in the least. If anything, she looked pissed off. "I gave you your final warning." She muttered, and everything after that was a blur.

In just a few seconds, she had disarmed the man, kicked away the knife and tackled him down to the ground. "If you even move an inch, I will make sure that you can't run anymore, got it?"

Officer Sawada closed in immediately, but at the same time the man tried to throw Yaoyorozu off, twisting his own arm while attempting to break free. He yelped loudly in pain, just as Sawada put on the handcuffs. Forced to stand up, he had no choice but to follow the police officers.

"You have to let me go! I didn't mean to do it! Aoi! AOI!" The man rammed himself into Sawada, startling him for just a second, during which he made a break for it. Just as Kyouka was going to start sprinting after him, Yaoyorozu's voice stopped her. "Jirou, get out of the way!"

Sidestepping on reflex, Jirou's senses made sure to distance herself very far away from the gun Yaoyorozu was currently holding up. Two precise shots later, the perpetrator wasn't running anymore.

* * *

"You know what the real makings of a friendship are? Willing to do anything for one another." Kaminari crossed his arms, nodding his head in satisfaction. "A burning flame that cannot be put out by anything. The pineapple of greatness."

"One, you mean 'pinnacle', Two, are you saying you'd sell your kidneys for me if I asked you to? I heard they fetch a hefty sum on the black market." Kyouka took a long sip of her milkshake, looking at him expectantly.

"Well, if you really needed the money… I mean, humans have like three kidneys, right? So, I guess I could give up one or so- hey! Stop laughing!" He narrowed his eyes at her, flinging a french fry over a few seconds later.

Kyouka gasped, looking between the fry on her lap and Kaminari's smug face. "You did _not_ just do that."

"You started it." An innocent lift of his shoulders combined with a grin was enough for Kyouka to retaliate by tossing the soggy fry back at him. He tried to catch it, fumbling around the air until it got squished between his fingers. "Ew."

Usually, she would've laughed at this point, but the squashed potato remains on his hand brought up another thought. "Hey, Kaminari… can I ask you something?"

"Hm? What's with the serious attitude all of a sudden?" He glanced at her curiously, wiping his hands clean at the same time.

"You've been working as a lab technician for quite some time, right? How much do you know about Dr. Yaoyorozu?"

"Well, I already told you the raccoon story, right? I don't really know that much else, either. I mean, I'm sure you know about her family and stuff…"

"So, it's true? That she's related to _the_ Yaoyorozu family?" Kyouka leaned a bit further forward. "Makes you wonder why she decides to hide away in the morgue all day."

"Beats me, but I heard she graduated with perfect scores in everything. Forget top of the class, try top of the academy. I was on field duty when the raccoon thing happened, you know? Her reaction speed was… outta this world."

"Hey," Kyouka laughed dryly. "I don't need you to tell me that. We encountered an assailant on today's crime scene, and the way she neutralised him… it was more textbook than the textbook itself. The textbook would have developed self-confidence issues, to be honest." She shook her head, the echo of the two precise gunshots reverberating in her memory.

"I can imagine that all too well." Kaminari stretched his arms over his head, letting out a long yawn. "Man, why do I have so much work lately? It's just case after case after case…"

"Same, I can't seem to catch a break. We also still have the serial killer case to deal with. Have you heard? Apparently, they're sending over some bigwig from Tokyo to help with the investigation…"

"What? No way… Somebody in the higher-ups must be getting his panties in a bunch…"

* * *

"What is it? Are you going to stare forever?"

"Well…" Shouto looked at her hesitantly. "You _do_ have something on your face."

"Yes, and I'd be very grateful if you didn't point that out." Yaoyorozu answered with a sharp hiss, stashing away her boots and coat neatly, albeit aggressively.

"Hey, what the hell took you so lo- Whoa, what the fuck happened to your face?!" Bakugou poked his head out of the kitchen door, annoyance switching to surprise in a split second. "Did you run into a lantern pole or something?"

"You could say somebody swung a lantern pole at me." She muttered under her breath, pushing past both of them into the living room. "Not that Dt. Too-Good-For-Thou was of any help. Searched the perimeter my- ugh."

Shouto could her the rattle of her bag being set down, the sound of her footsteps leading into kitchen, where her form appeared behind Bakugou. She opened the freezer, digging out an ice pack before stomping back into the living room.

"Okay, but, when you say 'lantern pole', is it metaphorically or literally?" Shouto asked carefully. If she meant it literally, did it involve somebody from the underworld? Had she been attacked? On the same day Aizawa called to warn him?

"Metaphorically, you nitwit." She shot a glare at him, curling her lips into a frown. "It was a pipe, if you insist on knowing."

"Yaoyorozu, we need to talk about something else. It's about certain safety risk-"

She interrupted him with a snort.

"You seem to have this misconception that everything bad that happens to me is related to your supernatural whatevers." Yaoyorozu smiled sourly, pressing the ice pack to her temple. "You must be forgetting that the biggest hazard in my job is still human stupidity, be it my own or somebody else's." She hissed slightly, quickly re-adjusting the ice pack.

"But…"

"Look, I'm a police officer with a doctor's title at the end of the day. I have a risky job. I sleep with a gun under my pillow. Werewolves, vampires, all the likes of you… You don't change that part of my job description. What happened today was because I was caught off guard and attacked. By a human. This has nothing to do with you." With those words she stood up, striding out of the living room with determination.

Shouto watched her leave, a feeling of numbness resting within him. "Well, that went well."

"You don't say, idiot." Bakugou growled sarcastically, slumping into the couch opposite of his. "I feel like Aizawa is just worrying too much. Why the fuck does he care so much?"

"He's not the only one that cares. I care. You care." Shouto clarified. "...You should really stop saying things you don't mean, Bakugou."

Bakugou didn't respond.

With a sigh, Shouto headed towards the balcony, resting his chin in his palm, just staring out over the city landscape. Bright lights flickered across the entire city, leaving the stars impossible to see, but he had spent enough time looking up at the night sky to know where all the constellations were by heart.

He had spent so much time…

No, that wasn't something he wanted to think about. Even as a vampire, as a supernatural being, he had no control over time. All he could do was stand by helplessly, watching as it flowed on mercilessly.

* * *

Momo glowered at her own reflection, pulling part of her hair in front her face, wondering if it could help to cover the bruise. Sadly, her attempts didn't bear much fruit, and covering it with makeup while it was still open to infections was a big no-no.

She finally decided to just clean it and redress the wound, hoping nobody would pay too much attention to her. Having to explain that she took a hit to her face was not something she was looking forward to. It was already bad enough that she had to fill out all those forms for the investigation reports.

Tugging at her hair one last time, she let out a long sigh. Her pride bore a bruise as large as the one on her face at the moment, yes, but that was no excuse for her behaviour yesterday. She had snapped at Todoroki unintentionally, and after cooling off her head and nerves overnight she was left with the guilt of not hearing him out and the urge to apologize.

However, he was probably still asleep and she had to leave for work fairly soon, meaning that it would have to wait until she got back. Should she write a note in the meantime? If yes, what would she write?

She switched on the coffee machine, looking for a pencil and sticky note while it was preparing her morning beverage. Once she had procured both, she stared at the empty note, finally scribbling down the first words her mind approved of.

 _Sorry about yesterday. We can talk when I come back._

* * *

"I thought you might want this." Jirou placed something on her desk. It was an ice pack.

"Thanks." Momo answered curtly, accepting the apologetic gesture. "You don't have to stick around here, you know? I'm sure you have more important work to do…"

"Well… about that… Dt. Tsukauchi asked to meet everyone on the serial murder case in the morgue at two in the afternoon… I was supposed to inform you to prepare the bodies of the victims until then…" Jirou folded her hands. "I'm really sorry, but I'm here to help you if you want any."

Momo blinked in confusion. Hadn't Lt. Yagi done something about the serial murders case already? They wouldn't be able to catch Toga through the official means anyway… "Uh, sure." Was the most eloquent answer her brain could come up with. "Do you know what the occasion is?"

"Well I have my suspicions… apparently someone from Tokyo is being sent over to help." Jirou explained.

Somebody from Tokyo's Police Department? Would this person… be associated with the supernatural world?

A thought crossed her mind. Could this have to do with what Todoroki wanted to talk to her about? If so…

No, she should deal with this as if it were just a normal human. She had said it herself, not everything in her life was tied to that world, so it was time to act on those words.

* * *

"Excuse me?" A male voice asked politely, opening the door to the morgue. Momo had been to absorbed in her work and mumbling to herself to realize that he had even knocked at the door.

"Oh, sorry. Can I help you?" She didn't recognize the man, maybe he was a new recruit to forensics?

"Yes, I'm aware I'm a bit early, but I was asked to come here for a meeting at 1400 sharp. This is the only morgue room, correct?"

Momo glanced at the wall. It was only half past one. "Yes, if you're here for the meeting with Dt. Tsukauchi, then this is the right place."

"Perfect. I'm Sergeant Tenya Iida, from the Criminal Investigation Bureau in Tokyo." The man held out his hand with a firm yet kind smile.

Momo glanced at her own blood-stained hands, promptly pulling off one glove and wiping the sweat off on her lab coat before shaking his outstretched hand. "Dr. Momo Yaoyorozu, it's a pleasure to meet you. I do have to ask, what is somebody from Tokyo's CIB doing here?"

"I have been assigned to help you with the mysterious string of serial murders you've been experiencing lately." He explained seriously. "I should add that I specialize in serial crimes and criminal profiling, so please allow me to help to the best extent."

This was… not going according to plan. Lt. Yagi had said this case would be going cold sooner or later, but having a specialist come in all the way from Tokyo? That was practically holding the case files into lava…

"I see. We're very honoured to have you with us, then."

"There's no need for that." He waved it off. "I just wish to make the world a better place. That said, I came here earlier hoping I could see the autopsy reports before starting the meeting."

Momo raised a brow at that. "Sure, but you do know you can access them from the vault, right? I would have thought that Dt. Tsukauchi had told you that…"

"He did, but I find things such as autopsy reports are best discussed with the person who wrote them. I'm aware your schedule must be busy, Doctor, but do you think you could spare me some of your time? I will do my best not to waste a single minute." Sg. Iida was a very earnest man, she could tell that much right off the bat.

Which is also why she felt guilty for having to send him on a wild goose chase. The culprit was Toga, they had confirmed that much, but Toga wasn't a registered civilian. No matter how hard Sg. Iida tried, he'd never catch the shapeshifter.

Regardless… Momo removed her other glove and walked over to her desk. "I still have some work to do, but you can read through them and let me know when you have questions, is that okay?"

"Of course, thank you, doctor."

* * *

"What I would give to have the guys from my department work as efficiently as that Iida guy." Jirou lamented out loud. They were sitting at the dingy diner again, but this time Momo had ordered nothing but a glass of water.

The meeting had been about as pleasant as they had expected it to be, and the other colleagues from the investigation department were not all too happy to have an outsider set foot on their territory. Dt. Tsukauchi had done his best to defuse the metaphorical bomb, but it was left to be seen how effective that had really been.

"Yeah…" Momo agreed half-heartedly. A part of her was worried he might step too close to the truth, and when that would happen, there would be nothing she could do anymore.

Should she subtly ask him to drop the case? Injured pride was better than injured life, after all…

"You seem to be thinking about all this waaay too much, Doc. Maybe he'll finally be able to find the clue we've all been looking at, you now? Sometimes, all you need is a foreign set of eyes."

"Mhm."

"I think the guy at the reception desk is extremely attractive."

"Definitely."

Jirou suddenly leaned over the table and pinched her arm. "Yaoyorozu, you aren't even listening to me. You just agreed to Mr. Donut-Fingers being attractive."

"...what?" Momo snapped out of her thoughts. "If I did such a thing, I take it back."

"Maybe it's for the best if you head home now. It's pretty late, after all…" Jirou smiled at her reassuringly. "We have a long day of work ahead of us tomorrow, after all."

* * *

"I'm home!" Momo announced as she locked the door behind her.

"Kitchen!" Came Bakugou's one-word answer.

After taking off her shoes, she entered the room in question, the apology the first thing on her mind. "Hey, sorry about yesterday, again."

Bakugou and Todoroki were washing the dishes.

"It's okay." Todoroki reassured her. "I should apologize as well, I was a bit insensitive towards your situ-" He suddenly stopped talking, wrinkling his nose. "You smell strange."

"That's really not what you say to a girl who has been working arduously all day." She deadpanned. Wasn't he speaking of being insensitive just a second ago?

"No, this is something else." Bakugou grimaced as well, holding his nose. "You reek of something _very_ unpleasant."

Momo blinked in confusion. "...eh?"

* * *

"Excuse me, Sg. Iida?" Momo hoped her nervousness wasn't showing on her face all too much, but it didn't change the fact that she felt extremely uncomfortable doing this.

Right now, only she and the sergeant were in the morgue, and he was looking over the autopsy notes once more.

"Yes, doctor?"

He seemed so… normal. There was always a chance that Bakugou and Todoroki were wrong, right? If they were, then this was about to become extremely awkward.

"Well, erm, it has been brought to my attention that you have not registered yourself at the local branch office of the association yet." She folded her hands. "I don't mean to trouble you with this, but you'd be going against regulations if you plan to stay here for a longer period of time without letting them know."

A part of her was hoping they were wrong. She'd take the embarrassment if she had to.

Much to her disappointment, the sergeant's expression turned stony, and he removed his glasses, cleaned them, then set them back on his nose bridge methodically.

"This is peculiar. I was under the impression you are a normal human being, doctor. Am I wrong?" His tone of speaking changed instantaneously.

"You are not." Momo held up her hands, hoping to convey that she meant no harm. "I am completely human, don't worry. But even as an exorcist, you are bound by the regulations, so please do us all a favour and pay a visit to the branch office."

Iida assessed her with cold eyes, but at the end he agreed with a reluctant. "Fine."

What a relief. Bakugou had reassured her that there wasn't technically anything an exorcist could do to hurt her, but she wasn't going to trust him on that. He used the term "technically", after all.

A few seconds later, Iida spoke up again. "So then, _doctor_ , mind telling me what's _really_ going on with these murder cases?"


	9. Cease And Desist

**IX. Cease And Desist**

"I'm… I'm not at liberty to share all the details with an unregistered member." Momo stated firmly.

The sergeant removed his glasses, wiped them with his sleeve and pushed them back onto the bridge of his nose. "I see. I'm surprised you'd trust vermin like _them_ to this degree, but I will not be the judge of you and your choices."

 _You're clearly judging me_ , is what she would have liked to say, but it was better to just keep her tongue in check. Instead, she straightened the cuffs of her lab coat and plastered on another professional smile. "Until you can show me proof of your registration, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave. I'm a busy woman as well, you see."

Sergeant Iida methodically closed all case files, stacked them neatly and made for the double doors leading to the hallway. Just before stepping out, he glanced over his shoulder one last time. "You are blinded, good doctor. One day, you'll see what monsters lurk beneath those masks. And when that day comes, you'll be faced with your own misjudgement and regrets. I bid thee well, Dr. Yaoyorozu."

There was something about the self-assurance in the man's voice that rubbed her the wrong way. Just who did he think he was?! He didn't know…!

She shook her head. This was no time to waste her energy on this kind of thing.

But… was this Toga case really so widespread that somebody from Tokyo had to come all the way out here? If so, then Lt. Yagi had given her a whole wrong impression of this case...

* * *

"Hey, hey, is it true?" It was Ashido, and she was leaning in too close for his liking. She didn't seem fazed in slightest, however, and continued speaking in a hushed, conspiratorial voice. "Is it true there's an exorcist in town?"

Shouto continued drying glasses, thinking over whether to answer her question or not, ignoring her as she began poking his shoulder. It _was_ true, but he wasn't sure that telling somebody like Ashido was a good idea right now. In the end, he settled for a vague "Who knows?".

He escaped her pout and further inquisitions by turning away and preparing some orders that had just come in.

The scent had been a clear giveaway. It was unmistakably an exorcist. Indubiously. Unquestionably.

Yaoyorozu had been surprised, but then he remembered that he and Bakugou still owed her a lot of explanations. It had never really come up before as she was a firm believer in science and decided to disregard the functionalities of a vampire body for the sake of her own sanity.

* * *

Katsuki stared at the omelette in front of him, watching it intently to make sure he took the pan off the stove at just the right time. With a practiced flick of his wrist, the egg mass was transferred neatly onto the serving plate and garnished with precision. Satisfied with the outcome, he passed it on to the waiters and moved on to the next order.

Cooking was something that he liked doing, mainly because watching other people do it just lead to excruciating frustration because everybody else was apparently an imbecile in a kitchen. But once he was in charge and had power over the heat and the ingredients, he knew that he could save most any dish (except that one time a certain idiot had convinced another idiot to try out roasting chicken over a lava pit… but he'd rather not remember that incident).

And yet, compared to what was going on right now, perhaps a lava pit would have been easier to deal with.

There was an exorcist in town.

That was the current state of matters, and it wasn't helpful in any way, shape or form. The Association had been notified once Yaoyorozu explained what had happened, and ever since then the name "Iida" remained at the front of his mind.

The Iida family was renowned among the undead, a famous and skilled clan of exorcists that were not to be trifled with. He didn't know much more about them, since he and Half-and-half had stayed out of their way, but now…

He wasn't going to lie, the sound of getting to fight an exorcist was… kinda appealing. Maybe a hundred years ago, he would have been roaring to go. However…

"Heh, I might be too old for that lifestyle now." He muttered to himself, letting that reality sink in.

Ah, the rice was about to burn. Better toss it once more before serving it…

* * *

Momo held a cloth to her nose, grimacing at the stinging stench filling the morgue. "Do I want to know what happened?"

Jirou, whose face was half-hidden behind a respirator, pointed to a gooey mass on one of the slabs. "We found a John Doe at one of the garbage dumps. He's been dismantled into multiple bags, and we've only found three so far. The others are still looking for the rest."

"Eurgh, great. My favourite." Momo mumbled in dismay, putting on three layers of latex gloves before reaching for the heavy-duty rubber gloves. You could never have too many layers with these kind of things.

"Any leads or clues?"

"Dr. Shishikura said he estimates the body to have been there for at least three weeks." Jirou informed her, passing over a clipboard filled with the other doctor's messy handwriting. "Other than that, he didn't have much to say, I think he was too busy trying not to throw up."

"Understandable."

"Well, I guess…" Jirou paused in thought, a soft hum sounding from the respirator. "I guess Sg. Iida may have something to say. He looked like he noticed something at the scene, but he's still looking for the missing parts with the others, so you can try asking him later."

"...I will. Thank you." Not that she was especially keen on doing that after their conversation a few hours earlier. But if the sergeant saw something, then maybe… She glanced over at the decomposing corpse in front of her. Could undead beings decompose and come back to life? Maybe she should just… leave on time today, lest she finds out.

* * *

"Can vampires, werewolves, zombies etc. decompose and still come back to life?!"

"...what?"

Shouto had been vacuuming the sofa when Yaoyorozu came back from work and stormed into the living room. She was even still wearing her shoes and coat, but her words held an urgent seriousness to them, even if they made little sense to him.

"You heard me. Could you, theoretically, start decomposing but still move around?" Her hands gripped the back of the sofa and she leaned towards him, further emphasising her dead serious demeanour. "Please, answer the question, because depending on your response I will have to rush back to the morgue."

"...not that I know of?"

She let out a long sigh, letting her head hang as her shoulders slumped. "You don't sound very sure about that."

"In my defense, that's the first time anybody has asked me this kind of question."

"In my defense," Yaoyorozu gritted out, "I have a decomposing corpse that your exorcist friend seems to be really interested in and I don't want to think about the nightmare that cleaning up will be if Mr. Goo decides to start waltzing around the morgue."

"Well, most undead are notoriously bad dancers, so he won't be waltzing…"

"Not the point here, Todoroki!" She snapped back at him.

As always, it took him too long to notice. She… she was genuinely shaken up by what had happened over the past few days. He could see it, growing in her dark eyes, slowly but surely… that tinge of _fear_.

Her increased, short breaths, the traces of cold sweat above her brow, the hammering of her pulse, all of it… she was _afraid_ of something.

"...Yaoyorozu." What was it? What was she afraid of? "Is everything okay?"

"Obviously not." Her tone was quieter, but the bitterness in it did not go unnoticed. "I just… Forget it."

She turned around and headed back onto the hallway and from the sound of fabric rustling he assumed she was taking off her shoes and jacket.

What was she afraid of? Was it… Could it be…

He remembered the conversation he had with Aizawa just the other day.

 _"She's not afraid of us."_

Was that… was that really true?

* * *

Momo swayed on her heels, rocking back and forth as she waited for Shinsou to come back with the papers she had to sign.

It was odd how accustomed she had become to coming to the UA building, even finding a shortcut from the police station to it.

The sound of the elevator arriving on the ground floor rang from beside her, but she didn't bother looking over as she didn't want to pry too much.

It was like going to the town hall, but the people were, erm, not alive anymore. Still, she wished to give them their deserved privacy, so she just kept looking at the wooden desktop in front of her.

"If it isn't the good doctor. What a surprise to see you here." The male voice that greeted her was not Shinsou's nor Mr. Aizawa's.

She hesitantly turned her head, meeting Sg. Iida's bespectacled gaze. " _Good afternoon_ , that's the phrase you were looking for. It is important to greet each other politely."

"You think such things are still valid in _this_ building? You delude yourself too much, Dr. Yaoyorozu." He scoffed, his fingers fiddling with a small card. Noticing her change of focus, he held the card up clearly. "Ah, yes. Look at me, being forced to comply with the devil's advocate. On that note, I expect full disclosure on the Toga case tomorrow morning."

Momo recognised the small rectangular item. It was a residency card. Bakugou and Todoroki had ones just like it, and it marked that you were registered with the Association.

She pulled her lips into a thin line, trying to counter the sergeant's icy glare with one of her own. "Of course, thank you for your cooperation."

"Yes, thank you for your cooperation." A more welcomed voice joined the conversation. Her former teacher slid a stack of papers towards the other man. "Here are your legal documents, if you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. If not, that I wish you a good day."

Sg. Iida glanced at the papers, took them and stashed them away in one of the inside pockets of his coat. "Actually, I have a question right now. Has your branch sunken so low as to have to use _humans_ now?" An outstretched thumb pointed towards her, to which she could only scowl.

"You have n-" Mr. Aizawa raised his hand, signalling her to stop talking.

"She is helping us out with a new rehabilitation program for our retired enforcers." He cut in diplomatically. "Feedback and critique can be given at our information desk."

"Don't be ridiculous," Sg. Iida sneered, stuffing his card into his coat pocket, "you can't rehabilitate _monsters_."

His footsteps echoed in the large room as he left the building, his last word ringing on in Momo's ears.

"Sorry about that." Mr. Aizawa spoke up, but his apology was overshadowed by what the sergeant had said prior to his departure. "You were here because of the staff, right? I'll go check on what's taking Shinsou so long."

"Ehm, yes. Right." She replied absentmindedly.

The rest of what happened just kind of whizzed past her, her body working on autopilot as she signed documents and accepted a long, thin case that barely fit into her car.

Even on her way home, there was only one word on her mind, drowning out the lacklustre radio music.

 _Monsters. Monsters. Monsters. Monsters. Mons-_

* * *

"Hey, let's talk outside."

Katsuki raised a brow at Half-and-half, who had suddenly appeared in the kitchen once their lunch break started.

They usually didn't talk much during work, so this was probably something important. "...Give me five."

It took him exactly five minutes to make sure all the stoves were off and to tidy up the unnecessary dishes, after which he headed into the dingy, small alley at the back of the restaurant.

Todoroki was already waiting for him there, arms crossed in deep thought and a stupid expression on his face.

"So, what's going on?"

"We have a problem."

"Yes, I gathered that much already. Now maybe try _explaining_ what the problem is." He gestured slowly, at about the same speed he was speaking. Was the old age starting to get to Todoroki?

"Have you… noticed Yaoyorozu's recent behaviour?" Todoroki's gaze was fixated on the asphalt ground, but his voice was firm enough to imply that something was _very_ wrong.

"I've been working a lot of shifts lately, I don't think I've had a full conversation her within the last four days." Katsuki explained. "What happened?"

"She… she's being paranoid. Well, maybe that's the wrong word, but…" He finally looked up, a troubled spark in his eyes. "I don't know why, but she's afraid of _something_."

That… that was a problem, indeed.

"I'm assuming you don't know what this _something_ is, do you?" Katsuki sighed, pressing two fingers to the bridge of his nose. If they didn't know what it was, then they couldn't deal with it.

"Hey, Bakugou. What if.. that _something_ … is…"

"Don't go there, Todoroki." He cut in, but it was too late.

"...us." The dreaded word left his mouth apathetically. "What if it's just bound to happen again?"

It wasn't like Katsuki had an answer to that. He believed that they had established a bond of trust with Yaoyorozu, not that he'd say that out loud, but something had happened to give Todoroki reason to think that she-

"We won't know unless we ask her." He decided to answer before his thoughts wandered on. "She's the type to talk about her problems if prompted enough."

"...yeah, you're right." Todoroki's answer was flat and unusual, and he felt no satisfaction in having him agree with what he had said.

Because in the back of his mind, a seed of doubt had been planted. What if he was wrong? What if… Yaoyorozu was actually afraid of them?

* * *

"That's all." Momo dropped the stack of files on Sg. Iida's temporary desk. "If you have questions, please direct them to the archive personnel."

The sergeant looked up from the work he had been doing, his eyes narrowing a bit at the sight of her. "I recall you saying something about being polite. I must have misheard you."

"Yes, you must have." She exited the office with long strides, nearly running over Jirou who had been peering in through the door gap.

"Wow, what on earth was _that_ about? Did something happen between you two?" The other woman inquired, not even bothering to hide her badly executed attempt at spying.

"...he said some things I will make him regret saying." Momo answered darkly.

"Do tell me more, I need to go down to the morgue anyway." Jirou gestured towards the elevator. "And I feel like you need somebody to talk to."

Momo pondered over it, and when they finally stepped into the elevator and it started moving, she let out a long breath. "He insulted people I care about for no adequate reason."

"Huh, that doesn't sound like him, I mean he's always so polite and helpful…"

"Well, that just goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover." She replied, crossing her arms. "I just don't understand what gives him the right to act all high and mighty about it!"

"Just take a deep breath and take it slow, Yaomomo. Ooh, that rhymed!" Jirou applauded herself, a small, satisfied grin on her face.

"Yaomomo? Is that supposed to be me?"

"Yeah, we're friends, so calling you 'doctor' is kinda weird. I mean I'll still call you by your title in court and in official stuff, but just under us, I thought- wait, you aren't one of those people who are really attached to their titles, are you?!"

"No, I'm not… I just hope you don't expect me to call you, erm," Momo assembled the corresponding portmanteau in her head, "Jikyoka."

"Please, no, that sounds awful. You can keep calling me Jirou. Or Kyouka. Pick your poison."

She generally didn't address many people by their first names, it wasn't how she was brought up to be, and even if she had no reason to listen to that upbringing, she just felt more comfortable keeping an arm's length of distance between herself and others.

"Jirou it is, then."

"Hey, you don't mind the Yaomomo thing, do you? I'd never actually want you to feel uncomfortable, you know?" Jirou held up her hands defensively, but the goodwill behind it did not go unnoticed. Maybe… an arm's length was overdoing it a bit.

"It's fine, I don't mind. Just don't write it on official reports." Momo jokingly wagged her finger, allowing herself to smile a bit.

Yaomomo. That actually had a nice ring to it.

* * *

Mr. Goo had finally been reunited with all his missing limbs, and he had not started waltzing around the morgue yet. He didn't do the tango or the mambo either.

He just stayed on the slab, like a good little corpse.

"God, the smell does not get better. When can we finally get rid of him?" Jirou's trusty respirator had been part of the morgue equipment for these past few days, always within a hand's reach for her.

"When we ID him and I manage to figure out the COD. All his bones are intact except for the part where he was cut through. Looks like your standard circle saw to me… wherever this happened, it left a huge mess." Momo picked out a piece of soaked fabric, separating it from the body tissue. "You are free to help me, Jirou. The faster we get this done, the faster I'll have the results for you."

"Let me just… put on a gazillion gloves first."

* * *

When Momo finally came home that evening, she kicked off her shoes and dropped her bag to the ground. She'd usually never do that. but all the stress and exhaustion that had accumulated over the day gave her an excuse to not care.

Whatever Bakugou had cooked, it smelled _good_. "I'm home!" She announced, finally bending down to arrange her shoes neatly next to her two flatmates' ones. Bag in tow, she entered the kitchen from the hallway, being greeted by the rich scent of soy sauce and ginger.

"Hey." Bakugou's response was… odd, to say the least. He didn't even bother looking over at her, just continuously mincing the garlic in front of him.

"Is something wrong?" She inquired, partly curious and partly worried.

He stopped chopping, swept the garlic into the wok, giving it a good toss before even glancing at her. "Not necessarily, I just want to ask you something."

The aroma of the garlic began to blossom in the small room, all while Momo could only furrow her brows in confusion. "You're acting strange."

"Wait until you see Todoroki."

Okay, _now_ she definitely knew something was never referred to other people by their names unless it was really, really bad. "Do vampires get fevers? Because I think you might have one right now… Dammit, I can't even take your temperature…"

"No, I'm fine. I swear."

"But seriously, you're starting to freak me out."

"Food will be ready in a few minutes. Just watch the vegetables while I get the other idiot." He pressed the wooden spoon into her hands in passing, to which she could only sigh.

What was going on? Her day had finally started getting better when she talked about it with Jirou, and now the two of them were being weird… Apparently, asking the universe for _just one day_ of peace was too much.

She gave the vegetables a good stir and started setting the table for three. Their schedules had been pretty mismatched these past few days, so it was nice to finally have dinner together again.

* * *

"We heard from Aizawa. Apparently that exorcist guy really went to register himself at the Association. He must have been one desperate bastard, huh?"

All plates and bowls were emptied cleanly, and Todoroki had seemed a bit more… distracted than usual.

"That can't be what this is about." Momo glowered at them. "You two wouldn't be behaving so strangely over something as petty as that."

"Yaoyorozu." Todoroki spoke up with a firm voice, but he looked away. His eyes fell onto the knife on the table and he picked up, plunging it into his hand without hesitation.

"What are yo-"

"Do you think we are monsters?" He interrupted her outburst, holding up his hand. He pulled out the knife, and in just a few seconds, the flesh began re-assembling itself, leaving behind not a single trace the injury had ever occurred.

"What? What does this have to do with anything?!"

"When you were attacked the other day, did you think the person attacking you was a monster?" Todoroki went on, finally putting the knife down, but keeping her gaze in a tight lock. "We, unholy creatures, aren't we monsters?"

It was that word again. Spoken with so much sadness and bitterness, in contrast to the malice and hatred the sergeant had said it with. _Monsters_.

"I…" She recalled that moment, when Midoriya had actually seemed like a threat. When her hands had started shaking despite her forcing them to stop. When the crybaby she met under the bridge had let out a growl so low her instincts just started begging her to get away from him. And her brain had replayed that scenario, but instead of Midoriya it was the two of them. Her two friends that she met in the morgue.

The two she trusted closer than just an arm's length of distance.

She had never actually seen it, but part of her had begun putting together the pieces. Whatever the two of them had done in the past, it wasn't pretty. It wasn't as innocent as working as a waiter and a cook.

"Yaoyorozu, somewhere inside you, you're actually afraid of us, aren't you?" Todoroki's words stung like ethanol on a scrape wound.

She didn't even know the answer to that question herself. "I-"

"It's okay. Everyone is."

Momo gripped the table cloth with both hands, pushing herself to her feet. She could feel her arms trembling against her will. She could feel her pulse racing. She could feel her throat go dry, but…!

"That's not okay!" She yelled furiously, both at herself and at Todoroki. "It's.. it's _not_ okay."

"That doesn't change the truth of the matter."

"Why would you… why would you even bring this up and put me in this position? How selfish can you be?!" She slammed both her hands on the table, hoping the shock would make them finally _stop_ shaking.

"Sel-selfish?" He stuttered in surprise. "I just-"

"Bakugou, is your question the same as his?" She cut him off, directing her words at the other vampire.

Bakugou remained silent at that. which she took as a confirmation.

She let out a long groan, sinking back into her chair. "Let me ask you two something in return: Is somebody who cuts up the carcasses of their own kind without regret or guilt also a monster? Are you two afraid of me?"

"That's hardly comparable."

"Why not? Because there are two of you?"

"No, but-"

"Todoroki, Bakugou. What… why are we even talking about this? Why is this a conversation topic? Why…?" Her voice sounded hoarse, and she could feel her eyes stinging with unshed tears.

"Because you should be. Afraid of us, I mean." Bakugou finally chose to speak up. "You've been put in danger because of us, and now even an exorcist is in to-"

"This all started when the exorcist came into play. Why?" Momo had been doing more interrupting all day than was good for her conscience, but both conscience and reason were out on a paid holiday right now.

"Exorcists are bad news." It was Todoroki's turn to speak again. "The Iida family is no joke. I don't think a single member could kill us, but I don't plan on finding out."

Momo let that sink in. Kill. Even with her profession, the idea that anybody would die had never really crossed her mind. Even with the situation she and Midoriya had faced, it hadn't quite become a reality for her yet. Even with the special staff she had received from Mr. Aizawa…

"Do you really think somebody will die?" She asked softly. "Is that… is that what you're afraid of?"

In the equation, realistically speaking, the person most likely to die… would be her.

"Are you… afraid of me dying?"

"The exorcist won't kill _you_." Bakugou evaded the question. "But his presence is not desirable."

"Wouldn't he theoretically be able to help with the murder case? I mean, the Tokyo police _did_ send him for that purpose…"

"You haven't answered the question." Todoroki steered the conversation back on course. "Are you afraid of us?"

Her heart felt heavy. Partially because a part of her felt like he didn't trust her, but also partially… because she had imagined being afraid of them.

"I don't know." She confessed. "This feeling of fear… I don't know if it's directed at you… or something else."

Her mind was clearer now after that detour, and her anger and confusion subsided slightly.

"I don't know what you're capable of, and it's only… _human_ to fear the unknown. When I get suspicious corpses in the morgue, I can't help but get anxious and wonder if they'll suddenly wake up and walk away. I don't know anything about you or your world. I… I just don't know!"

Somewhere along the rant, she had buried her face in her hands, a poor attempt to hide her frustration. She was usually so good at keeping up the façade, at keeping it all at bay, but this was already the second time this had happened.

That the two of them had pushed her so far that she just blurted everything out.

And afterwards, there was only silence. There were no scolding words from Bakugou. Nothing from Todoroki, who had gotten this ball rolling in the first place.

Just… nothing.

She peeked at them through her fingers, trying to get a read on the situation. And just as she did, her vision was obscured by a pair of white socks.

"Bakugou, take your feet of the table!" She exclaimed, sitting upright and already making a move to remove them manually.

"We're sorry." Todoroki said, catching her off guard. "I… was being presumptuous. I shouldn't have… doubted you. I… am sorry."

"We've met a lot of humans over the years." Bakugou continued. "For us, the lifespan of a human is… very short. A decade can pass before you even knew it started. A child will be an adult in the blink of an eye. That adult will grow into an old man before you even realise it, and when that happens, you still… look like this." He gestured to himself. "I would be afraid, too."

He took a deep breath, not that he needed it, but… "We don't age. We don't get hurt. We keep on moving in dead bodies or we stop moving and stay dead. Those are the only two options we have. And somebody who is still alive cannot understand this. So… they instinctively fear it."

And suddenly, it felt like he was talking about somebody else. Like it wasn't about her anymore.

"Hey, don't go projecting other people onto me." She felt… a bit insulted by that, actually. "You're right, I don't understand, but… I don't have to understand in order for us to be friends, do I?!"

The conversation faded into an awkward silence after that, with everybody finding an unexplainable interest in the tablecloth and dishes.

"This is so fucking stupid. Let's just forget this ever happened." Bakugou sighed loudly, finally taking his feet off the table and clearing the table. The soft clinks of the plates and bowls being stacked filled the background as Momo tried to come up with a good comeback for that.

There was no way she was just going to let this topic slide after the five heart attacks she had within the last twenty minutes, but her colloquial skills chose the worst time possible to fail her.

And Todoroki had yet to answer any of her questions, in retrospect. All he did… was apologise.

"I'm really sorry." And he just kept apologising."I was wrong, I…"

Momo pushed back her chair, the sound of wood scraping against wood overpowering the second half of his sentence. She agreed with Bakugou, this was most utterly _stupid_.

"Bakugou, sit down." She pointed at the empty chair as he exited the kitchen. "Don't say anything and just do it."

He seemed to contemplate following her orders, a scrutinising furrow of his brow giving his thoughts away. Eventually, he gave in and slid back into the chair without further argument.

Honestly, she still did not have a good comeback. Or anything good to say. What could one possibly say in a situation like this? A part of her had been hoping to come up with something amazing while trying to get Bakugou to listen to her, but she still had nothing.

"I don't want you to apologise to me." She said firmly. It was far from witty or eloquent, but it should've been straightforward enough to get a point across. "I don't need you to tell me everything about yourselves. I don't need to know about what you may or may not have done over the past few centuries. I just… I just want you to have faith in me."

It sounded dumb when she said it out loud, almost petty, but those were the only words she could put it into. The way her heart constricted at the idea of them doubting her, not trusting her, it wasn't something she wanted to feel.

"I don't want to make promises I don't know if I can keep, and I don't know what you've experienced over time, but… I've been really happy, okay? Having you in my life has made me really happy. And I know I sound stupid and probably look stupid too, but I don't want to lose our friendship over something even more stupid like this. So just… trust me, please."


	10. The Baader-Meinhof Effect

**X. The Baader-Meinhof Effect**

It was like an annoying screech at the back of her mind, something she tried drowning out by turning onto her other shoulder, but the noise just kept going on and on. With a groan, her hand blindly searched for the source of all evil, a.k.a. her alarm clock.

It took her a few seconds, but a realisation slowly came to her. That wasn't her alarm ringtone.

And once she found her phone, the bright display confirmed that it was, indeed, not time for her to wake up yet, either.

She stared at the name of the caller, contemplating on whether to ignore it or not, but it could have been something important.

With a sigh, she slid the green icon upwards. "Jirou speaking."

" _Officer Jirou, sorry for the call at this hour. Do you think you could come down to the station? There's been an emergency and the graveyard shift could use some extra hands."_

Kyouka looked up at her ceiling, thinking about her nice, warm bed and the duvet pooled around her at the the moment. About the nice dream she was having before the call interrupted it (not that she actually remembered her dream, but it had to have been nice, right?).

" _Officer Jirou? Are you still there?"_

Duty was calling. And if she wanted to upgrade her nice bed, she needed money.

"Yeah, I'll be there right away." She held back a yawn, hanging up the call and falling back into her pillow.

After blinking at the ceiling a few times, a second thought sunk in. What could have possible happened that they needed to call back-up at _two in the morning_?

* * *

"Hey, I'm here with the forensics team." She announced herself to the others standing at the tape. Seeing as she'd never been to this part of town, it had taken her considerably longer than she thought to find the right place, added to the fact that it was _three am_ and this was not her regular shift.

"Jirou, good timing." The person who greeted her first was Dr. Shishikura, their 'field' coroner. "I heard they tried to call Dr. Yaoyorozu out for this as well, but she doesn't seem to be picking up her phone…"

"To be fair, she only left the morgue a few hours ago." Kyouka pointed out. "She also spent the whole day playing jigsaw puzzle with our newest John Doe."

"I'm aware."

She chose to drop the topic after the awkward pause and looked around the cordoned off area instead, frowning when she couldn't see anything suspicious. "Dispatch said there was a double homicide and possible b&e. Why did you need more manpower?"

"It's easier if I show you." Dr. Shishikura gestured for her to follow him, leading her through a small alley to a larger plot that had been obscured by the surrounding buildings.

And… once she saw it, she understood. "Dear god, that is... _something_."

"Some of the others refused to work on the crime scene."

"I... don't blame them." Kyouka couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene in front of her. "How did you manage to keep the media hounds away from this? They would kill for exclusive pics of this."

"That's partially what the additional manpower is for." The doctor explained.

"...I'm assuming you haven't started your preliminary autopsy yet?"

"Do I look like I can fly? All of us need to wait for the firefighters to secure a passage first."

"Let's hope the dead bodies don't stand up and start walking until then." Another voice joined the conversation. "That would be troublesome."

"Sg. Iida, you were called out, too?" Kyouka stuffed her freezing hands into her pockets as she turned to face their newest arrival. "Or were you still at the lab?"

"I was waiting for some results at the lab. But I must say, this is far more important than those results." He looked up at the crime scene.

"You don't actually think they're gonna start walking again, do you? Zombies are things of fiction." She chuckled, nudging him playfully.

Sometimes, the best way to befriend somebody was to be put into a shitty position at an ungodly hour and find that you are both just human beings who don't get paid enough to put up with it.

But Sg. Iida didn't respond, unrelentlessly staring at the crime scene. His brows wrinkled behind his glasses, his jaw clenching notably.

"Woah, woah, you don't actually believe in that kind of stuff do you? Sure, it looks like a sat-"

"Let's not talk about this any further, Officer Jirou. The firefighters are almost done bridging the gap and securing the area. We should make haste with our work to prevent unwanted onlookers." He cut in, _quite rudely_ , if she may add.

Man, he was really spooked by this, wasn't he? Not that she blamed him.

Her eyes crept back towards the display, at the messy, illegible symbols and letters written with what she assumed was blood, not-so-voluntarily donated by the two dead bodies hung up on the wall.

Not to mention the fact that the whole front facade of the building in question was in shambles, allowing for an unhindered view of the new, very much red, living room decoration.

"I still don't understand how they managed to cause so much damage to the house in the middle of the night without anybody noticing." Kyouka wondered out loud.

"The neighbours thought it was just noisy teenagers. They said it happens all the time." One of the firefighters answered, a shrug slightly visible through his heavy jacket. "But we've secured it enough for forensics to go in."

"Thank you for your hard work." Sg. Iida offered a polite bow.

"Thanks, too. But more than that, I would really like to know what on earth caused that crater… the chief has been speculating weird stuff for the past hour and his ideas just keep getting weirder…" The firefighter shook his head. "Anyway, let us know if you need anything."

Kyouka looked up at the crime scene one more time, suppressing the uneasy feeling in her gut. "Will do."

* * *

"Good morning… although you look more like you could use a good mourning."

Yaoyorozu clearly did not think it was as funny as Kyouka thought, giving her a silent glare in response. The glare was emphasized by her tired eyes and slightly unkempt hair.

It was unusual for her to look anything but perfect.

"You, uh, wanna talk about it?"

"...flatmate troubles." The doctor muttered, dedicating her attention to cleaning her tools within the next second. Kyouka was going to take that as a 'no'.

If there was one thing she learned about the good doctor, it was that cleaning things beyond necessity was just one of her many, odd coping mechanisms.

"Is that why you couldn't come last night? Or rather, this morning?"

"Was it important? I saw that I had 27 missed calls from the station, but I haven't heard about what happened yet."

"Oh, it was _something_ , all right. Not sure I could ever put it into words, to be honest." Kyouka crossed her arms and leaned against a nearby cabinet. "It's like... if you crossed a horror movie with an alien invasion. And added satanic blood rituals. And teenagers. And zombies."

Yaoyorozu's face held an expression of pure perplexion, her imagination trying to reconstruct the crime scene in her mind and evidently failing to do so. "...I think I'll just have a look at the files later." She paused, her lips pressing together as she thought about it further. "Actually, how do zombies have anything to do with this?"

"Oh, that." Kyouka grinned slightly. "I think Sg. Iida believes in supernatural beings. You should have seen his face when we talked about it, he was _suuuper_ serious about the topic, it was almost cute."

Contrary to her expectations, Yaomomo's brows drew into a frown. "What did he say?"

Something about the way she said those words gave Kyouka chills. It was the same feeling she had gotten yesterday, when Iida had spoken about his topic. But…, nah, that was ridiculous, she was probably just still a bit spooked. She braved through the odd feeling and twisted her lips into a forced smile. "Hey, you don't actually believe this kinda stuff, too, do you?"

"..." Yaoyorozu stopped her cleaning motions, silently staring at the tiled wall.

"W-well, that aside, I came to bring you some lab results on Mr. Goo." She changed topics swiftly, breaking free from the awkward silence. "I'll just...leave them here."

And with hasty steps, she made her exit, mumbling something about reports and interrogations as she stepped through the double doors.

* * *

"Hey, did you see that new superhero movie? It was crazy, and then at the climax, a huge horde of zombies appeared, and-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, Kaminari. I saw it already." Kyouka cut him off before he delved into a full analysis of the movie.

"Wait, really? I thought you didn't have time…" Whether it was intentional or not, Kaminari really had that confused puppy look pat down.

"It's not my fault my schedule sucks, but I managed to go to one of the screenings. Let's talk about it more after paying, though." Her milkshake was nearly empty and their next shifts started pretty soon, so leaving the conversation at that point and slowly heading back to the station weren't such bad ideas.

They split the bill and stepped out of the diner, the sharp tinge of winter wind biting her skin without a shred of mercy. "Eurgh, it's so cold I feel like _I_ could become a zombie." She pulled her scarf higher up her face, covering her nose and squinting to keep her eyeballs from freezing solid.

"Like, an ice cream zombie? Or… an icycle zombie? How would you even say that?"

"Geez, what are you going to do, write a thesis about different types of zombies based on environment?"

"Hmm." A serious frown made its way to his face, showing him legitimately contemplating that idea. "Actually, now that you mention it, I-"

"Word of advice: don't."

* * *

"You've been staring at that report for ten minutes already, sergeant." Kyouka gently poked Iida's shoulder, just to make sure he hadn't fallen asleep with his eyes open.

"I know." He answered sternly, re-adjusting his glasses. If they kept slipping down, why didn't he just get them fitted better?

She leaned over his shoulder, flying over the contents of the page he had been looking at. "The double homicide from the other day?"

"Yes. I'm… looking for something." His words were elevated and vague, as always. Maybe that's why Tokyo HQ got rid of him and sent him here to Musutafu? She briefly wondered if he had any friends with that attitude…

"Need help?" She offered regardless. It would be the perfect excuse to procrastinate her arrest report on a petty thief they took in a few hours ago. "Or is it something related to that imaginary zombie of yours?"

The sergeant didn't answer that question, he merely intensified his stare to the point the crime scene picture could have grown a consciousness and shriveled up in fear.

"It's useless." He muttered in the end, dropping the file back on his desk and standing up, going god-knows-where.

Kyouka looked between his back and the papers, deciding to flip back to the picture in question. It seemed slightly less intimidating as a photograph, but the clearly drawn symbols were as unsettling as ever.

Clearly, something about this picture had been bothering Iida, but what could it have been? With a shrug, she closed the folder again, deciding to go back to her own responsibilities, after all.

* * *

"Hey Jirou, you know that one cocktail, right? The one with the different kinds of rum, and the…"

"A Zombie?" She asked, trying to interpret Kaminari's weird and wild gesticulations.

"Yeah, the Zombie! Anyway, the guys and I went to this one bar that just opened, and Sero downed the whole thing!"

"You went drinking without me? Rude." Kyouka fake-pouted, nudging him playfully. "You better buy me one of those as compensation."

"Sure, but you know the rules. Thursday's is lab tech's night out." He almost sounded proud about it, in a cute way. "But back to what happened to Sero, after that he staggered to the bathroom and-"

"Eww, do you really have to tell me these stories over lunch? I still have a morgue date after I finish up those reports from yesterday…"

Kaminari's vibrant expression faded in a flash, replaced by a dull, blank stare. "Ugh, don't remind me, I also have reports from last week I still need to file away."

"At least I get my reports done within a week."

"Leave me and my poor self alone."

"Yeah, yeah, you big baby. Break's almost over, by the way."

Kaminari angled his neck, looking at the clock behind him in dismay. "Ah, how short your precious life was…"

"Your life won't last much longer if you don't get those reports done. C'mon, let's get going."

"Yes, ma'am…"

* * *

"Imagine if this guy came back from the dead, we'd have a goo zombie on our hands." The doctor sighed, trying to match up another two of the dismembered parts.

"It's a good thing zombies don't exist, imagine _cleaning_ this up afterwards." Kyouka joked, not that she was volunteering to clean up if it were to ever come to that. "What's with this new zombie fad, anyway?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's more of… hey, you're like a walking encyclopedia, so I'm sure you know the right word for this, but…"

"I am _not_ a walking encyclopedia." Yaoyorozu puffed out her cheeks, narrowing her eyes at her. "It is impossible for a single person to know everything, after all."

"Yeah, but do you know that feeling when you randomly hear a word and then it's suddenly everywhere? Like literally _everywhere_." Kyouka continued regardless. "I'm sure there's some fancy-schmancy word for it."

"Do you mean the Baader-Meinhof Effect?"

"See, I _knew_ you'd know it. And why is everything named after Germans?"

Yaoyorozu could only offer a shrug in response to that. "Unlike most phenomena named after German scientists, the Baader-Meinhof effect was named after a radical movem-"

"I don't need the full history lesson, Ms. I'm-Not-An-Encyclopedia."

The doctor pouted, actually _pouted_ at that. "I'm not an encyclopedia. And you should really show more interest in history."

Yeah, no thanks. Kyouka had enough trouble keeping track of her non-existent diet and catastrophical sleep schedule.

"So anyway, about this Vader-Mine-Hoof-thingy…"

"Baader-Meinhof."

"Yeah, that." Kyouka had no idea what the individual words even meant, but she decided to spare herself a second, wasted, attempt at pronouncing them. "Lately, everybody's been talking about zombies. Did I miss out on some kind of trend?"

Yaoyorozu's hands stopped moving, and she looked up to meet Kyouka's gaze with a furrowed brow. "You're asking _me_ about trends?"

"Ah, touché."

* * *

"I'm such an idiot." Kyouka groaned, slapping a hand against her forehead in the hopes of smacking the stupidity out. It did not accomplish that, in fact, she might have lost a few brain cells during that.

She had somehow managed to forget one of her incomplete reports at the office. The incomplete report that was due _tomorrow_.

Some onlookers at the grocery store started giving her weird looks, swerving their shipping carts around her in larger than necessary motions, not that she cared.

After hastily dumping all her shopping into her cart and racing through checkout, she sped back to the office. Graveyard shift had already started some time ago, garnering her a few curious glances.

"Did you forget something?" Sero, one of the lab techs, asked her as she stepped out of the elevator catching her breath.

"Yeah, a report with a deadline." She condensed the answer for him.

He nodded understandingly, but gesturing for her to hold on. "About that, Sg. Iida took a stack of papers from your desk just now, saying they were related to that double homicide case…"

"Huh? Oh yeah, that's right, I told him to just take the ones on the… right…" Realisation dawned on her that she may or may not have also put the report she needed in that stack.

At the very top, in fact, so she wouldn't forget about it.

"Where's Sg. Iida right now?"

"The morgue, I think."

"Thanks, Sero. Also, cut down on the Zombies, I heard _all_ about it from Kaminari." She winked at him, patting his shoulder before disappearing back into the elevator, but still in time to catch his dismayed sigh.

* * *

"What. The. Actual. Fuck."

"Jirou, duck!"

"Don't let him touch you!"

"Come up here!"

"But be careful!"

What… what had she just walked into…?

Yaomomo and Sg. Iida were standing on the empty examination tables, and… _jumping_ throughout the morgue was a… goo zombie.

"Please calm down and hear us out. We mean you no harm." Yaomomo tried to reason with the… _thing_ , but all she got in response was a gurgling growl.

"Doctor, it's a fruitless effort, it's nothing more than a mindless beast!" Sg. Iida shouted, the anger simmering in his tone. "We need to kill it as soon as we can! Officer Jirou, what are you waiting for?! Get up here!"

Kyouka barely registered that she was being screamed at, her eyes too fixated on the anomaly playing off in front of her eyes. "What the _fuck_?" She repeated, seemingly only knowing that one phrase.

Yaomomo hopped over to her, hauling her up onto an occupied slab. It took her a moment to register exactly what was under her feet after finding her balance. "Oh my god, why am I standing on a dead body?! What the fuck is going on here?!"

"No time for explanations, we need to deal with Mr. Goo first."

"Mr. Goo? You don't mean…"

"I do. Now come on." Yaomomo was not joking, not in the slightest.

The doctor had already managed to maneuver around the slabs, meeting up with the sergeant across the room.

"Sg. Iida! Do your exorcist thing already!" She called out to him, trying to get the goo thing's attention by waving a white sheet like a…

"Don't treat the Jiangshi like a bull!" Sg. Iida scolded her loudly. "And do _not_ refer to my abilities as an 'exorcist thing'! I'm far superior than those lousy vampires you frequent your time with!"

"I'll have you know that those lousy vampires know exactly what to do when I say 'vampire thing' and don't waste time arguing over unimportant details!" Yaomomo shot back.

Kyouka watched from the other side of the morgue as her two co-workers began throwing petty arguments at each other while a disgustingly-scented blob of goo was hopping around. What… what was even going on?

There was one term, however, that snuck into her mind as she observed the goo zombie.

"...V-Vader-Mine-Hoof effect."


	11. Hopping Zombie Olympics

**XI. Hopping Zombie Olympics**

"I'll have you know those lousy vampires know exactly what to do when I say 'vampire thing' and don't waste time arguing over unimportant details!" Momo argued back.

That was a lie, of course, Todoroki had the interpretive abilities of a worn sock, and while Bakugou's were not non-existent, he purposefully chose not to use them unless absolutely necessary.

Not that Iida had to know that.

"Well, that must be nice for those unholy creatures, but those of us fighting for righteousness do not have that luxury!" He shook his fist at her angrily, the bead necklace he had been holding tightly jingling softly with every movement.

He had tried to stop the Jiangshi multiple times using that rosary, but so far all his attempts had been in vain.

"Alright, then tell me what you need done to do whatever you do!"

He clearly had another insult on the tip of his tongue, but a gurgling growl interrupted him before he could say it out loud. With some quick, thought out steps, he relocated to another slab, pulling a second string of beads from his pocket.

"Can you think of a way to restrain it without touching it?" The question was meant seriously, showing that he at least acknowledged her in _some_ way.

Regardless of personal issues, they would need to work together to get out of this. Momo held up the sheet in her hands, speaking up before the sergeant could finish rolling his eyes at her.

"I can twist this into a long rope, will that do?"

A few seconds passed with no answer, but eventually he sighed and nodded. "Remember, don't t-"

"Don't touch it, I know." She just wished he would _stop_ treating her like a child, honestly.

* * *

 _One hour earlier…_

"Where's the other doctor?"

Momo didn't even bother looking up at the owner of the voice. His heavy footsteps were audible from the corridor already, and when he stepped in with a heavy sigh instead of a normal greeting, she was already done with him.

"Dr. Shishikura is at home, resting. His shift ended two hours ago." She answered his question, continuing her far more interesting task of examining bruises.

"Can you at least give me the results of the autopsy reports on the double homicide?" She could tell he was standing opposite of her, the only things between them being a slab and a dead body. Reluctantly, she straightened her back and met his gaze head on.

"I handed in the report a few hours ago, I'm sure you already know that. What do you want?" That was a rhetorical question. She had her suspicions based on what Jirou told her, but it was always better to hear it straight from the horse's mouth.

Sg. Iida's square jaw clenched. "I think you know."

"None of the bodies started moving around. If that's all, I'm rather busy."

"Have you looked at the crime scene pictures?"

"Briefly, but I didn't see the point of studying them too much." A lie. She had stared at the messy symbols for much longer than she would care to admit.

"Do you know what any of the characters mean?"

"No."

"Hmpf, you really don't know anything, do you?"

Ugh. There was no end to his condescending nature, was there?

"If you deem it important, then do clarify their meanings." She smiled sweetly. In theory, she would have asked her two flatmates, but things between them were… shaky right now.

"It's a warning." He crossed his arms, a smug undertone evident in his words. The smugness died down right afterwards however, replaced with a deeper sense of… bitterness. "It's definitely connected to the Toga case."

Even Momo couldn't quite uphold her grudge when it came to both of them doing their jobs. "Let me guess, there's no mortal evidence."

"Nothing." The confirmation came with a frustrated grunt, probably the sergeant's most relatable action to date.

"There's no way Dt. Tsukauchi would accept anything without a plausible hunch or evidence." She sighed. "Okay, second guess: You want my help?"

"I would rather do without it, but it seems my hands are tied here."

 _Gee, thanks for the enthusiasm._ He couldn't even say "please". She pulled off her examination gloves, flexing her wrists as she exhaled loudly.

"I'm not all too thrilled either, but we are both officers of the law." Momo turned towards her desk, jotting down a string of numbers from memory and holding out the slip of paper to him. "You should talk to Lt. Yagi about this, then come back to me. I'll see what I can do for you then."

He seemed sceptical, but he accepted the phone number regardless. "Lt. Toshinori Yagi is a living legend." There was genuine admiration and respect in his words.

It wasn't as if Momo thought that Sg. Iida was a bad person, it was just his attitude towards her and the undead that really got on her nerves. Which made it even more surprising that he would show such positive reactions towards the lieutenant.

"You know him?"

"Not all undead are scum of the earth. Once in an eternity, there will be one who…" He trailed off, a deep frown on his face. "All the ones besides Lt. Yagi are worth less than dirt, however. Especially the two you have taken in."

There it was, the initiative to dismiss any positive thought she might have held towards him. "What do _you_ know about them to say such things?"

"More than you, evidently."

Momo could only roll her eyes. Honestly, this was not a discussion she wanted to have right now, not with how things were at the moment.

Sg. Iida didn't move from his spot, just watching her work for the next five minutes in complete silence. As it started gnawing at her, she let out a sigh and looked up at him once more. "Was there anything else you needed?"

"I'm just trying to understand you and your questionable lifestyle."

"The door is behind you, please show yourself out, _now_."

"Since you insist." He muttered, leaving the morgue without any further comments. A sigh of relief escaped her lips, but her peace didn't last long.

A mere 15 minutes later the sergeant reappeared with a stack of papers, dropping them onto her desk without the slightest hint of remorse. "These are some of Officer Jirou's reports. They'll help us put together a case."

"I recall telling you to come back _after_ talking to Lt. Yagi."

"I'm going to make the phone call now, you can start sorting through them already." His misplaced confidence was starting to get on her nerves.

"I'm not doing anything until I hear from the lieutenant."

"If being difficult is your approach to things, then you'll never get anywhere."

"I got to where I am without your life wisdoms."

"And where is that? Playing nanny for two renegade vampires?"

"You-"

She was interrupted by a dripping sound. Maybe 'dripping' was the wrong term, it was the sound of something far more viscous. Her annoyance levels were higher than healthy already, so she turned towards the source of the noise with a click of her tongue.

What she initially assumed to be a faulty faucet was, in fact, not a faulty faucet.

"Sg. Iida, have you ever heard of self-fulfilling prophecies?" She asked apathetically, staring at the dismembered, decomposed remains of Mr. Goo that were piecing themselves back together.

"This isn't the time for your bad jokes, doctor."

"No, no, this is the _perfect_ time. There's nothing more hilarious than this." Her words came out flat and without energy. Maybe she should ask for a raise, because she was clearly not being paid enough to deal with this.

* * *

The situation was dragging out too long for her own comfort. Her fingers automatically searched her coat pocket for her phone, fishing out the slim device and unlocking it in a practiced swipe.

"Sg. Iida, I'm calling for back-up."

"Don't be preposterous, none of them can enter the building without police IDs."

"I can still ask for advice." She started firmly, scrolling through her contacts until her thumb came to hover over a name.

 _Todoroki_

She stared at the character that made up his name, a moment of hesitation crawling through her fingers. He… he had doubted her. He…

In a split second decision, her thumb scrolled back, finding her other flatmate's name in her list, before promptly hitting the call button.

 _"Whaddya want?"_

"You got a moment? It's kind of important."

 _"Shoot."_

"Well, there's a goo zombie-"

"Jiangshi."

"-jiangshi in the morgue and-"

 _"Wait, is the shitty exorcist there, too?!"_

"Yes, the 'shitty' exorcist is here, too."

"Did that filthy vampire just call me a- I swear to all gods, I will-"

"Until you prove yourself useful, that descriptor stands, Sg. Iida!" She turned back to her phone. "So, anyway, do you have any advice for me?"

 _"Sacrifice the exorcist and run."_

"Rejected."

She heard him sigh on the other end. _"Do you know where the master is?"_

"Obviously not."

Another, deeper sigh. " _Alright, I can't promise this will work, but do you have any large mirrors around?"_

"This is a morgue, Bakugou, not a fashion venue."

" _Excuuuuse me, I figured a large mirror would be more likely than sticky rice."_

"Why sticky rice of all things?! This is a police station!"

"Erm, ...Yaomomo?"

" _Look, times were different back then, woman, so you-"_

"I told you the disgraceful vampire wouldn't be helpful!"

"Yaomomo, Sg Iida…?"

"Bakugou, are you sure there isn't anything else? Something that might be in a morgue, maybe?"

" _How the fuck would I know?! Look, just use the exorcist as fodder and get out of there!"_

"Why do I feel like the vampire just said something reprehensible? Doctor, this is unacceptable!"

"YAOMOMO!"

Momo pulled the phone away from her ear at the sudden call of her name. Her head swerved around to the source of the outcry, that being none other than the momentarily forgotten, third still-living member of the police taskforce.

Jirou's face was slightly flushed in agitation, but her brows pulled together in determination. "Don't ignore me like that! And…! You said something about sticky rice...right?"

"W-well, yes, but…"

"I…!" Jirou opened the bag slung over her shoulder, taking out a packet of… "I went shopping just now, and bought some glutinous rice flour, amongst other things."

Momo blinked a few times, ignoring whatever it was Bakugou had been saying. Sticky rice… glutinous rice flour… actually… "Hey, uh, Bakugou. Do you think… glutinous rice flour would work as well?"

 _"..."_

"I know it's a stretch, but you never know, and technically it's the same thing, you know…you know?"

 _"Sacrificing the exorcist is still the more reliable tactic in my books."_ He grumbled, but at least he didn't outright deny the possibility of it working.

"Right, so I just have to throw it at the jiangshi, right?" She gestured for Jirou to come over, to which the other woman complied. A bag of glutinous rice flour made its grand entrance as the saviour of the day, followed by a deep sigh.

"I was going to make mochi…" Jirou mumbled, opening the bag carefully as a few more, softer words of complaint fell from her lips.

"I'll buy you all the rice flour you want after this is over." Momo consolidated her. "I'll even help you make the mochi."

 _"Wait, let me check again with one of the others. Hey, Pinky, do y-"_ Bakugou's voice meanwhile cut off mid-sentence as the phone distanced itself from his head, leading Momo to believe that he was asking his fellow supernatural co-workers for advice.

A big sigh escaped Jirou's lips. "All this still feels like a weird fever dream. Who ever heard of rice flour stopping a _zombie_ before?"

The sergeant was silent, watching the two of them with an unreadable expression.

"What?" Jirou asked. "You have any better ideas?"

"The rice is meant to absorb the evil." He explained. "Give it to me, I'll do the ritual." There had been a shift in his aura, the menace and animosity replaced with something much… sadder. She wasn't sure if that was the right word to use, but something about him seemed filled with regret and sorrow.

Jirou glanced up at her, the question reflected in her eyes.

Momo hesitated. Maybe she shouldn't-

 _"Hey, you still there? I asked around and the others said it might work, but you gotta give it to the shitty exorcist to, eurgh, increase the chances."_ Bakugou's voice rang from her phone, which she was still stiffly holding to her ear.

He sounded disgusted and as if he wanted to regurgitate the words more than speak them, but he still managed to get the point across.

"Right, thank you."

 _"If it doesn't look like it'll work, get out of there. Just… don't be stupid."_ It was Bakugou's weird way of showing that he cared about her well-being, so she gave him an affirmative confirmation before hanging up.

"Sergeant, we'll entrust this to you." She turned to her other co-worker, who took the bag of white powder.

Something was definitely different to before.

The jiangshi had started approaching them once again amidst the commotion, but this time Iida faced it heads on, even stepping down from the examination table.

"Sg. Iida! What are you doing?!" Jirou's confused cry cut into the stunned silence, and then-!

Momo knew she shouldn't have been surprised, she had seen her fair share of oddities over the past few months, after all, but even all the talking animals, werewolves and vampires could not prepare her for her first exorcism.

The chants that made no sense to her ears, the eerie light show and the constant, nearly inaudible jingle of beads came together into a breathtaking display. The jiangshi could sense the danger, shaking as its feet stopped hopping, and once the sergeant ripped open the bag of glutinous rice flower and threw it at the monster, it erupted into pained screams and gurgles, melting into itself, the last thing to disappear being a single hand stretched out towards the ceiling.

As if it was pleading to see the light one last time.

Sg. Iida did not hesitate to pull on a pair of medical gloves and start searching the puddle of decomposed flesh, pushing chunks of it aside until he found the object of his desires.

The long piece of paper he pulled out was surprisingly unaffected by its not-so-savoury environment, and it took her the entire time period of the sergeant walking over to the sink and gently rinsing it to snap out of her stupor.

"What's that?" She asked dryly, turning to glance over her shoulder. Jirou was clinging to her from behind, and they were both still standing on one of the slabs.

"A talisman." Iida replied quickly, studying the writing before wrapping it in paper towels and stashing it away in his jacket. "That's all you need to know, anyway."

"Objection." Jirou intervened stubbornly. "I think I have a right to know more about what the hell all that just was. Are we shooting a movie and nobody told me? Were you trying to get you SFX license? Just what-?"

The sergeant shot Momo a look, insinuating that it was her responsibility to deal with this. She shot it right back.

* * *

Momo raised her hand to call a waiter over before looking over at Jirou. "Do you, erm, want a milkshake?"

Jirou's eyes slowly shifted to the right, then to the left, finally meeting hers with a strained smile. "Can I have the _what-the-fuck-just-happened-in-there_ menu, please?"

"Your order, miss?" The waiter arrived at their table, notepad and pen at the ready.

"A water and a large strawberry milkshake. Do you want anything, Sg. Iida?"

"I'm good."

The waiter nodded, jotting down the order and heading back to the back. Momo's fingers drummed against the table surface, her wristwatch revealing that it was already 11 pm.

"I didn't ask for a milkshake, I asked for explanations." Jirou re-adjusted her sitting posture, crossing her arms with a grimace. "Just… _who_ are you two, anyway?"

"I… I'm just a coroner." Momo shrugged. It was the truth. She herself was just a normal human being.

"You're a delusional madwoman." Sg. Iida corrected, showing his astounding social tact. "And I'm truly sorry you've been involved in this, so I would suggest that we-"

Their coworker interrupted him by holding up her palm. "I've seen the movies. I know what comes next."

"You do? I must admit, I didn't know that movie culture these days portrayed our procedures to this extent…"

"You're going to wipe my memory, aren't you? You have a special device, just one flash and bam, gone." Her fingers gestured an explosion as she leaned back, creating more distance between them in the small cubicle.

"Actually…" The sergeant seemed confused. "I'm not sure what movies you've been watching, but no. We won't wipe your memory, I can assure you of that much."

"Wait, you mean you're going to… make me _disappear_?"

"No, not that either." Momo cut in, trying to keep the conversation from going completely off-track. "You won't be hurt in any way, not as long as I have a say in this."

"Yes, I promise I won't hurt another human being." Sg. Iida added on.

Momo couldn't help but frown internally at that statement. So he wouldn't hurt other humans, but he wasn't above insulting her?

The waiter came back with their orders, and once the milkshake had been set down in front of Jirou, she started aggressively sipping on its straw.

So much for not wanting one.

"How do I even begin…? Well, first of all, there are supernatural creatures living amongst us."

She left her milkshake alone just long enough to raise an 'oh, _really_?' eyebrow at her.

"And… what we encountered in there was one of them." Momo went on. "And… we'd appreciate if you didn't tell anybody."

"When do we get to the part that I don't already know?" The other woman asked impatiently. She was clearly still shaken up from what happened in there, not that Momo blamed her in any way, but it made this just a bit harder.

"To be completely honest, we aren't entirely sure about the details, either." Iida took over the narrating, "but all you need to know is that we are very grateful for your help, and that we owe you our lives."

Momo wasn't sure if that was an exaggeration or not since she was sure they would have found another solution, but it _was_ true that Jirou had showed up with a solution in the nick of time. "Jirou, what happened today was-"

"I'll take over from here." An unknown voice interrupted. "Dr. Yaoyorozu, Mr. Iida, I'll need you to sign these papers, please." The woman placed a clipboard on the table, the front page bearing UA's logo. "Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. The name's Asui, I'm from the association."

Iida seemed to recognise her, narrowing his eyes at her. "You're-"

"Miss Kyouka Jirou, correct? I'm here to offer full disclosure and sort out any reparations, should they be needed."

"Ah, no, I'm unharmed, so-"

"Please come with me, regardless. This is part of our protocol." Miss Asui continued. She spoke with an ever-so-slight lisp, and she seemed awfully stiff in her suit, as if she wasn't used to wearing one. How odd.

Also, Momo had never gotten a disclosure talk like this, so since when had this protocol been in place?

"Officer Jirou, this woman won't do you any harm. It's best to listen to her for now." Sg. Iida spoke up, clear reluctance carrying his words.

Jirou swept her eyes over to meet her own, and Momo nodded weakly. Iida wouldn't purposefully hurt Jirou, she could trust him on that much. "Alright, if you insist." She finished her last bit of milkshake and stood up.

As she and the mysterious woman left the diner, Jirou threw one last look over her shoulder, and Momo did her best to smile reassuringly.

* * *

 _"Shouto Todoroki. What have you done?"_

Shouto did not infer good things from Aizawa's tone. There was a calm iciness to it that left him shivering despite not having that bodily function anymore.

Aizawa went on when it became clear that Shouto had nothing to say. _"Well, I guess I should be addressing both you and Bakugou. Let me rephrase that question: what have the two of you done?"_

"I'm not sure what you are talking about." A lie. There was a strong hunch in the back of his mind.

 _"You're smarter than this, Todoroki. Don't make me send you to those social awareness seminars again, I still have the phone number."_

He gulped. "We're working on fixing it, so there's really no need for you to get involv-"

 _"There is a need for me to get involved if she gets into a fight with our local exorcist and a jiangshi."_

That stung a bit, if he was honest. He'd heard part of the story from Bakugou, but he had yet to hear any of it from Yaoyorozu herself. He didn't even know where she was at the moment, or if she was even alright.

Clearly, Aizawa knew more than he did. At Bakugou's orders, Shouto had headed to the police station, lurking from across the street to not get any attention, but he had yet to see any sign of Yaoyorozu or any of the other people mentioned.

The chilly night wind swept through the trees above him, but his focus was on the entrance to the police station.

 _"You still there?"_

"...yes." A car drove by in that moment, drowning out his answer.

 _"Wait, where are you now?"_

"...in front of the police station."

" _So she didn't even tell you that she already left the premises?"_ He really didn't have to add more salt to the wound.

"Is that so? Then I assume she's safe and unharmed. Bakugou told me she was with the exorcist, so I guess-"

There was a deep sigh being dragged out on the other end of the line. " _Todoroki, this situation keeps getting messier and messier. If this goes on-"_

"I know." He cut him off firmly. "I know."

" _... there's a diner not too far from the station. I've sent Asui over to deal with the human, but Yaoyorozu and the exorcist should still be there. I'll send you the location."_

"You're being awfully nice today, Mr. Aizawa."

" _The proper response would be 'thank you, Mr. Aizawa'."_

Shouto looked down, staring into his reflection in the puddle at his feet. "Thank you, Mr. Aizawa."

* * *

"This is all connected to each other, doctor. " Iida explained. "Toga's sudden rampages, you being targeted not once, but twice and the incident from the other day. It all spells an ill omen for us and the association."

Honestly, Momo was too tired to listen to his long-winded deductions right now. She wasn't sure she had the brain capacity to deal with anything right now, especially since they were standing in the cold once more.

The lights from the diner served as backlight for the sergeant's tall frame while she sat on one of the railings on the empty parking lot, letting out a long sigh. "Let's both just sleep on all this, you call Lt. Yagi and then we can talk more about this tomorrow, how does that sound?"

She couldn't make out his face in the lack of light, but after a few seconds he shook his head. "The events are fresh in our minds right now, we should-"

"Can't you see she's tired, exorcist?" Somebody said from beside her. Momo hadn't even heard him approach them.

"Todoroki…"

"Vampire, can't you see we're having an important discussion?" Iida's menace found a new target instantly. "Go hide in the shadows, like you and your kind always do when the important things happen."

"Funny _you_ should say that, exorcist, as I recall-"

"Will the two of you _be quiet_?" Momo interrupted them before this fight went anywhere. She could already feel the migraine coming.

"Sorry, Yaoyorozu." Todoroki was the first to apologise, even if it was to her and not to Iida. "To be fair, I didn't start it."

Iida disagreed audibly, but Momo decided to make her move before he could continue. Standing up and putting herself in front of Todoroki, she looked up at the sergeant, who had a bit of a height advantage over her.

"It's late, I'm tired, I'm hungry, my shift already ended and I want to go home. We'll talk more after you've spoken to Lt. Yagi, and that's final." She turned enough to take hold of Todoroki's upper arm and began dragging him away.

Thankfully, Iida let them leave without any further complications, but it still left her with one unsolved riddle. "Todoroki, why are you here?"

"Bakugou told me about what happened." He answered simply, still letting her pull him along. "He's still working, so I came instead."

"Ah… I see." She wasn't sure what other answer she had been expecting, but she took the silence as a chance to take a deep breath, slowly letting go of his coat at the same time. "Thank you, I guess."

A part of her suddenly felt bad for not calling him, she knew she was calling Bakugou during his working hours while Todoroki was home, but that moment of doubt that crept into her soul at that moment… maybe it was the stress of the situation, but…

"Hey, you know, I'm sorry, but at the same time, not really." She mumbled.

"Sorry about what?"

"For not calling you." She couldn't muster looking at him, and they both stopped walking in the middle of the pedestrian walk. "Maybe my reasons are petty, and given the situation, that's kind of stupid, I know, however…" She dug her hands deeper into her coat pockets, leaving the rest unspoken.

"I don't blame you, it's my fault."

"It is." She agreed. It all started because he…

"And I've apologised."

"You have. Multiple times, actually." It was a case of apologies not being enough. Momo knew she was being incredibly childish, and she was generally quick to forgive, but the sentiment of him not trusting her just... _burned away part of her soul_. It hurt her. It made her sad and angry. It...

"Say, Todoroki…" She finally looked at him again. "What would I have to do for you to trust me?"

"..." He didn't say anything, instead bringing up his hand, hovering it over her shoulder, but it never touched her. There was something off about the look in his eyes, and just like that, he removed his hand again. "Maybe it's not about me not trusting you. Maybe I just don't trust myself."

"That doesn't help me."

"Believe me, it doesn't help me either." He sighed and looked away, his hands disappearing into his coat pockets as well. "All that aside, I'm glad you're safe. Jiangshi can be tricky to deal with."

Momo accepted the change of topic, going along with it. "I'm almost certain it only happened because Sg. Iida kept insisting it was going to."

"Maybe it's a hidden power exorcists have."

They started walking again, almost having reached the police garage where Momo's car was still standing.

* * *

Shouto looked up at the starless sky while waiting for Yaoyorozu. He couldn't get into the police garage through official means, so she went to get the car and collect him at the street corner where he was currently standing.

Their previous conversation replayed in his mind. They'd actually had a few similar conversations over the past few days, always initiated by him apologising to the point she told him to stop and that she would throw him out if he apologised one more time.

It was easier dealing with physical problems than trying to solve emotional ones. He knew, he knew deep down that she most probably wouldn't b- No, he didn't want to think it. But, what if… Just that small thought of _what if_ was terrifying in its own way.

He ran his hand through his hair, searching the night sky for stars one more time. He couldn't see any, just like he couldn't find the answers to his problems.

Ah, this was why Bakugou had told him so many times not to get attached. This was why they dropped off the radar. This was why…

He suddenly remembered something, fishing out his phone and texting Bakugou to bring back some food for Yaoyorozu. She had once told them about how she refused to eat anything at the diner near the station, and she had expressed her hunger earlier, so it must have been some time since she had eaten a proper meal.


End file.
